


The Sand Clock

by beautifulfantasy



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Love Triangles, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2018-12-31 23:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 75,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12143067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulfantasy/pseuds/beautifulfantasy
Summary: Terra made several bad choices in her life. But what if she got the chance of doing it all over again? What if someone told her to take a different path? Is she as compatible with Beast Boy as she seems? Or will Beast Boy eventually realize he made the wrong choice? BBxRae





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> About this story:  
> 1\. This is a BBxRae fanfic. There will be BBxTerra moments, but the BBxRae essence will always be there.  
> 2\. Time will be very important. Please pay attention at the dates at the beggining of the chapters. For expected effects, I used the date of first exhibition of the episode of the cartoon as the date their events happened.  
> 3\. It's a long story. There are 36 chapters and it is complete. I'll publish at least two chapter per week.  
> 4\. I apologize if there are mistakes, English is not my first language.  
> Thank you and I hope I'll give the fic a chance.  
> I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 1 – The Reencounter

Jump City, 2024, 1:00 pm

Tara Markov left the diner on a rush. She walked to the square across the street, looking for something in the old brown coat’s pockets. Underneath, she was still wearing her waitress uniform, a pink dress and a white apron. She took a cigarette pack from a pocket and a green lighter from another. She pulled a cigarette with her mouth, staining it with red lipstick and returned the pack to her pocket. It was cold and the wind was strong. She covered the flame from the lighter with her free hand and sighed with relief when smoked. She closed her eyes, inhaling the smoke and leaned against a big tree, staying out of the wind.

It was her lunch time. All of the other waitresses ate at the diner, or went to another place with her boyfriends or sometimes with a client. She never lunched. The cigarette kept the hungry away. She was very skinny, and a little pale. Watching the playground, she saw a bunch of little kids playing, all fluffy from all the sweaters and jackets their parents made them wear. It was Saturday. Even cold, the parents couldn’t lock their children home. Tara blew out the smoke. The children were screaming, annoying her. Even among the yelling, however, she heard a familiar voice, calling out for a familiar name.

“Gar!”

The cigarette swung between her fingers. She turned to the voice’s direction, only to shrink behind the tree to the vision, being almost completely hidden.

The voice came from a rather short woman with long violet hair and a grayish skin, wearing an elegant black coat. She had a little girl with equally violet hair on her arms and looked annoyed. A car’s door could be heard slamming.

“I’m here, Rae, calm down” answered a smiling man. Tara squeezed her hands tight.

The man was tall, with well defined muscles, and had green skin. His also green hair was a little longer than when Tara knew him, and the wind messed it up. He wore a brown jacket and also had a child on his arms, just as muffled as her sister, and a big bag on one shoulder.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea” said Raven “They could get a cold”

“Rae, you wrapped them up to go to the North Pole” said Beast Boy. “Besides, they’re gonna drive everyone crazy at the Tower if they don’t take a little air.”

The two of them walked to the playground. Tara followed. The couple sat on a bench and put the children down, and they ran to the slide. Tara sat beside a near tree. She could be spotted if one of them looked behind. She put the cigarette out on the earth so it wouldn’t smell.

Beast Boy lifted his arm and put it around Raven’s shoulders and kissed the top of her violet head, and she leaned it to rest on her husband’s shoulder. Tara felt a sting of pain.

‘You are at _my_ place, Raven’ she thought, angry.

Raven moved, uncomfortable.

“What is it?” asked Beast Boy.

“Just a bad feeling…” answered the empathic woman, taking her hands to her chest. She searched for her daughters with her eyes. They were now playing at the seesaw.

Tara tried to control her rage flow. She had forgotten about the witch’s powers.

“Everything’s fine, Rae” Beast Boy hugged her. Tara looked away and held her emotions tight inside herself.

The both of them remain silent for a moment, then started talking about daily stuff. Tara got surprised with the life style they had now, and by what she heard, so had the other titans. They had two older children at school and a house in the city. Tara had already seen their oldest son. She heard about his birth, that was when she realized how much Beast Boy was over her. She saw him once in a while going to school. He was remarkably like his father.

She heard the little girl’s yelling approaching, and saw that they both were missing the gloves and caps.

“Where did you left them?” asked Raven, disappointed “You better not have lost them”

“We borrowed them to our sandmen, mommy” answered one of them, carefree “Do you wanna see? Come on, come on”

Raven was dragged by the daughter to the sand box, and Beast Boy remained with the other one, delighted with her joy yells when he lifted her up above his head. It was beautiful little girl, blonde with green eyes and delicate traces.

‘She could have been my daughter’ thought Tara, jealous ‘And I… I could make him much happier’

She looked at her watch. Her half hour lunch was over. She got up silently and walked away from the happy family, going towards the diner. She hadn’t smoked enough. She’d spent the rest to the afternoon hungry.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Tara arrived at a grimy building dragging her feet. She was tired. She worked hungry and missing her cigarette. The manager called her attention to her horrible appearance and made her spread blush at her face to look healthier. She went upstairs slowly, since she would get out of breath if she did it too quickly, because of the cigarettes. Stupid broken elevator building.

She at last was in front of the door with the number 31. She turned the key and got in, without turning the lights on, laying on the couch. She didn’t want to see her sad home again. Small, messy and sad. The Logan’s house was probably big, clean and tidy. Perfect.

She got up and went to the kitchen. The last sun rays lightened up the room enough so she could make a sandwich. She ate it voraciously and then went to her bedroom’s window to smoke.

Tara started wondering if she deserved all that. She laughed without humor. If the Jump City knew what she did to their city 20 years ago, she would have even less. Slade… It was all his fault. She wished she’d never trusted him and his smooth voice. She turned away from the people who really want her welfare. When she realized that, it was too late. And still, they forgave her.

She remembered of waking up at the dark and damp cave, a dead flower bouquet at her feet and a beautiful plaque with the words ‘Terra. A Teen Titan. A True Friend.’ She was too ashamed to come back, too scare to ever try and use her powers again. When Beast Boy found her, forgiving her in a blind way, she couldn’t look into his eyes without feeling guilty. Besides, she had never loved him. He wasn’t a reason strong enough to come back and face the other’s disapproval and suspicion.

Nevertheless, as her life went by, Tara came to the conclusion that, even if she didn’t love Beast Boy, she should have gone with him. She would love him with time. Maybe he was the only one that could make her happy. Besides, in the current conditions, anything would make her happier. She couldn’t stay put in high school. She belonged to the world and travelling. At least, to a life of action. The most action she got these days was the constant changes of job and city.

Tara was jealous of Raven. She was angry at herself for leaving Beast Boy to the empath. If she had never left… he would now be hers.

She put out the cigarette and, with these thoughts, fell asleep.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

When she woke up, the sun was high in the sky and the apartment was illuminated. Tara got up and scratched her eyes. She turned on the TV and went to kitchen to make breakfast.

The News was on. A pretty lady informed that they would have a warmer week. Next, the anchor introduced a new about the arrest of a super villain and called for a report that was at the place.

“Great, just what I wanted, to hear about their marvelous services again” mumbled Terra, pouring hot water at a mug with instant coffee powder.

“ _At today’s dawn, the super heroes Titans stopped the robbery of an antique and valuable piece of the Jump City Museum’s collection_ ” informed the reporter from a busy street, full of police men and nurses. The Museum rise behind her, old and impetuous “ _The criminal is the super villain formerly known as Control Freak, released two years ago for goo behavior. We still don’t know which piece it was and what he intended with it. This historian, employee of the Museum, can give us more information_ ”

The image expanded to show a nervous man with messy hair next to her.

“ _This particularly piece was a kind of clock, one of first ever made in the world, in Asia_ ” he said, looking anxiously to the Museum “ _We don’t know what he wanted, it doesn’t make anything special. By the writings found with it, whoever made it believed it had mystical powers, but historians from a lot of places examined it and it doesn’t seem to have any other value besides the historical one_ ”

That moment Cyborg came out of the Museum, with the hand on the shoulder of an old and fat man. He was trying not to be too blunt. The man was extremely fragile. He was the Control Freak. He was on a pity state. His wrinkly face had a shocked expression, and he didn’t seem to understand what was happening. He kept mumbling “ _It was the last piece, it was the last piece…_ ”

The reporter left the historian to interrogate Cyborg.

“ _Please, could you tell the public the criminal’s state? Do you know what he wanted with the piece?_ ”

“ _Nothing to declare_ ” answered Cyborg dryly, giving the villain to the nurses.

From the Museum came out a tall man with long black hair, using a black and blue uniform and a mask on his eyes. The reporter went to him.

“ _The Control Freak will be held at a sanatorium and treated there_ ” he informed before the reporter could ask anything “ _He appears to be out of his mind, and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Not even he knows why he came to steal this piece, and he’s on a delicate health state. We didn’t have to use violence to stop him._ ”

“ _Just this one piece!_ ” yelled the Control Freak from the ambulance, laughing hysterically “ _Then you could fix all of yours mistakes!_ ”

“ _But there were found plans on him, right?_ ” insisted the reporter, getting closer to Nightwing “ _You have no idea what he was planning?_ ”

“ _He seemed to be building a time machine_ ” said the hero, annoyed “ _But it was impossible for it to work, he was following no logic_ ”

“ _Do you think he knew how to unleash the clock’s mystical powers?_ ” she asked, but Nightwing was already walking away. She turned to the camera “ _It seems they won’t give us any more information. The Control Freak has an affect state of mind and…_ ”

The hysterical laughs got louder. The nurses were about to inject a tranquilizer.

“ _It would fix all of your mistakes! Then you could be happy at last!_ ” the criminal’s face appeared on the screen, frightfully out of himself. The nurses closed the ambulance’s door and the presswoman finished the report.

Tara was mixing her coffee and looking at the TV, but not seeing the images. Control Freak’s words kept echoing in her head.

_It would fix all of your mistakes… It would fix all of your mistakes…_

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Teen Titans
> 
> *Air date of the episode 'Terra': January 24th, 2004

Chapter 2 – The Clock

7:00 am

“Tara! The eggs are burning!” yelled Charlotte from the other side of the balcon.

“Hmm?” Tara woke up, looking at the almost black eggs on the pan she was holding “Oh, no! Sorry, Charlotte, I’m gonna make others”

“It’s okay, I’ll take them to Mr. Kyle, he won’t mind” answered the red haired waitress, stretching her arm to the plate Tara was serving “But be careful with the next ones, you know Mrs. White likes them with soft yolk. Don’t forget about the waffles I asked, and we need more orange juice”

“Fine…” mumbled Tara, breaking another two eggs on the pan. She hated working in the kitchen, she would rather serve the clients, but it was the cook’s day off, and she needed more money. And that particularly Sunday, she was not focus. She spent all morning thinking about the report she watched about the Control Freak and his time machine.

The poor guy was beyond crazy. But his final line left a strong impression on her… Even more after a breakdown like that. Seeing how Beast Boy made Raven happy… She regretted leaving the Titans so many times, but seeing them so happy opened a wound she thought was healed for a long time. Just to remember the changeling offered her all that and she stepped at the offer like it was trash…

She served the eggs, opened two more orange juice carts, poured the liquid in a glass jug and put it on the counter, where the waitresses could reach easily. She started to work on the waffles. She remember the waffles Cyborg made to celebrate her entry in the team. Tears came to her blue eyes. How she wished to live that moment again, this time not being a Slade’s spy. How she wished to fix all she did wrong. How she wished to… go back in time…

She took the waffles to the counter. The same reporter she saw on the TV earlier that morning was again at the diner’s TV.

“ _The artifact which was target of steal last night will go back to its shelf at the Jump City Museum_ ” she informed, now inside of the Museum, near some employees organizing the place “ _The Museum’s owner does not believe there will be new attempts of robbery, since there is not a big amount of money involved and the assault this dawn was made by a lunatic. The Control Freak already is at the town’s sanatorium and he doesn’t seem to offer a bigger danger to the society._ ”

Tara didn’t pay attention anymore. All she apprehended of the information was that the clock would be at the Museum again, without any special protection.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

1:00 pm

Was she thinking straight? She couldn’t believe, but her heart wished to put her hands on the Museum’s clock more than anything. What a stupidity, what would she do with the clock? She didn’t even know how it worked. She supported her head on her hands. She was sitting at a table at the square, the very same square she spotted Beast Boy and Raven the day before. It was her lunch time again. The usual cigarette was put down at the concrete bench, forgotten.

She lifted her head and thought she saw Beast Boy once again with his wife and daughters, but this time, she was the wife. Tara never really dreamed about getting married and having kids, but her life was so bad, and the other people seemed so happy, she thought maybe this way she would have some happiness again. Anything would be better than stay alone at that little, dark room, suffering from insomnia or having nightmares about Slade.

“Oh, God. I’m going to steal that clock.”

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

8:00 pm

Tara said goodbye to her friends. They invited her to a party again, and she refused as always. She was tired of parties; she spent all her youth in them, getting drunk and spending nights with men she would never see again. Besides, she had plans for tonight.

Everything closed earlier on Sundays. The diner, the bakery where she bought a cake every Monday to have a sweeter week, the bar where she bought her cigarettes, the newsstand, the clothing store… and the Museum.

The Museum wasn’t far from her house. She decided to walk there, so she could think on the way and maybe give up on this insane idea. She had on her hands some food from the diner, which she took for dinner. She found a homeless man sleeping on an alley and left the bag next to him. And she kept on walking.

What the hell did she intent to do, anyway? She hadn’t used her powers in years. After she woke up at the cave, they seemed to have cooled down; it was easier to control them. And she decided not to use them ever again. Could she still use them…?

Tara stopped and looked around. She was at a desert street. She bit the bottom lip and concentrated on a little rock, about 15 feet ahead of her. She didn’t need to struggle. The rock rose from the ground and floated to her hand. Tara stared at it, it was gray reddish and it stained her hand with mud. The mud she loved so much when she was a teenager. Now her hands had yellow grayish stains from her cigarettes. She closed her hand around the rock in a fist and felt like crying. She was Terra once again.

She walked the rest of the way in a trance. She went so slowly she took nearly an hour to get to the Museum. It felt like minutes to her.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

10:00 pm

The Jump City’s Museum was an imposing building. Its façade was richly ornated with delicate notches of angels and waves. Its entrance was surrounded by tall white columns, and the door was so big it looked like a palace’s entrance. It was one of the oldest buildings in town.

Terra was walking around it for half an hour. She sit once in a while to watch the guards. They were alert due last night’s invasion. She sighed. She would have to enter by the ceiling. She was at the building’s side, where there were no guards. All around the museum was a well cared lawn.

“Lucky” thought Terra “It’s quieter to take a piece of the ground when there’s no concrete on top of it”

She looked to the rock on her hand then closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she floating on a piece of earth. She jumped on the museum’s ceiling and lowered the piece of earth slowly, until fit in the lawn like two puzzle pieces.

Terra looked around. There wasn’t anything that could take her inside. She walked to the center of the building and found a sunroof. She knew that the sound of breaking glass wouldn’t reach the guard’s ears, but she also knew that it was likely to have guards inside as well. And she wasn’t wrong.

The blonde woman kneed at the edge of the sunroof and looked down. She saw a guard passing by a hallway and some minutes later, another one, going the opposite direction. She sat and buried her face on her hands. She couldn’t do it. Through her tears, under the moon’s light, she saw a golden glow at a shelf far away. She rubbed her eyes. There was the clock!

It was pretty far from the sunroof, she would have to jump and run to catch it, and then ripped out a piece of earth of the museum itself to escape. It would call a lot of attention, and the titans would know it was her. She bit her lip. On the other side, if she managed to go back in time, she wouldn’t have to worry about that, because any of this would be happening.

But what if she couldn’t?

Terra held locks of her hair. She couldn’t think about anything but how badly her heart wanted the clock. How stupid she had been, coming here without a defined plan. Of course nothing would work out. When she looked down again, however, she got astonished.

The clock was floating.

Great, now she was raving. When she tried to control it, however, just like she was able to control the little rock on her hand, it worked. It was coming to her. Terra couldn’t understand, but when the clock came close enough, she did.

It wasn’t a clock. It was an hourglass. An hourglass filled with sand. One of the glass bulbs had all the sand concentrated at the top, pushing the whole piece up, moved by Terra’s powers.

Tears came to her blue eyes. That was sign, a sign that it would be okay, she could make this.

Without thinking about anything else, she stepped in a glass square, breaking it, and the hourglass came to her hands, moved by the sand inside it. She grabbed it and ran. When she jumped, the lawn cushioned her fall. She heard the guard’s yells and she ran just like when she was younger.

Terra ran as much as her lungs could bear it. They reminded her that she still was Tara, the smoker, then, when she heard the sound of sirens, the earth opened up, and the blonde woman got inside the gap the rocks offered her. When the surface closed again, deepening her in dark, she sat and hugged the clock, squeezing her eyes.

She had no idea how to make the clock work, but she was sure it was very powerful. She could feel, when she touched its cold and smooth surface. The hourglass was inside a glass box, carved with lines she could feel with her fingers, but she didn’t know what drawing they formed. And the sand sliding through the glass hourglass was an antique sand, with mystical secrets overflowing from each grain.

The whole artifact emited earth’s power, and Terra felt linked to it. She squeezed her eyes and wished to go back in time with all her heart, go back to the night when she lose everything. Her wish was so strong and so honest, it awake something long asleep in the clock. The soul inside it woke up to grant that earth’s daughter’s wish when their powers merged, because they were one and the same.

The hourglass’s sand, until that moment following faithfully the gravity’s purposes, started to go back to the bulb it came from.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

_January 25 th, 2004, Jump City’s borders, 9:04 pm._

_Terra was running as fast as she could. She couldn’t believe Beast Boy told Robin her secret. Even after he promised her! She had trusted him. The lack of control of her powers was her most shameful secret. Tears slid through her face._

_Maybe Beast Boy didn’t tell it… Maybe Robin realized by himself. What happened at Slade’s fight weren’t something particularly discrete. She stopped running and wiped her tears._

_That didn’t matter. What matter was that everyone knew she couldn’t control her powers. That made her feel ashamed. In the end, they would send her away, just like everyone else. It was best not to bond, so she wouldn’t suffer again._

_Terra turned around. She had a weird feeling. Like she was being watched. And she wasn’t wrong._

_“Terra” a familiar voice called her. Terra gasped._

_“Who’s there?”_

_“I am, Terra, Tara…” answered the voice, in a nostalgic tone._

_“I don’t understand…”_

_“Terra, I came to tell you something important” said the voice, serious “Go back to the titans. They are good. They won’t turn their back to you”_

_“But I…”_

_“I know, dear. But if you don’t go back, you’ll have a terrible fate. Trust them, just this time. Trust me.”_

_“…”_

_“And never ever listen to Slade. He’s going to be your damnation. You must protect yourself from him”_

_“Who are you?”_

_“I am the future you don’t want. Believe me, and change me”_

_The voice was gone. And Terra believed._

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Second Chance

Beast Boy’s bedroom, January 26th 2004, 05:15 am

Beast Boy got up quickly. He was very euphoric. Today would be Terra’s first day as a truly teen titan. He picked the butterfly hair pin up from his desk, which he had kept after she stormed out. He was also really relieved. She didn’t lose his trust on him.

After Robin said in front of everyone that he’s realized she couldn’t control her powers, Terra got really sad and embarrassed. But she came back the next night, looking a little confuse and very lost. Beast Boy found her on the beach, and she was tearful. The changeling hugged and told her nobody cared if she had controlling issues, they only wanted to help. Terra cried on his shoulder just like she did inside Slade’s hiding place. Beast Boy’s heart raced. He was willing to support her at anything.

Beast Boy came out of his room, washed his face at the nearest bathroom and ran off to the common room as a cheetah. After crossing the door with a leap, he slid and got back to his human form. To his surprise, he only found Robin and Raven. The boy wonder was at the computer and the empath was pouring hot water in a blue mug. Both of them stopped what their tasks to stare at the green boy in the middle of the room.

“Hm… Good morning” said Beast boy, finding the scene strange.

“Good morning” said Robin, frowning. “What are you doing up?”

“What do you mean? Where are the others?”

“Beast Boy, it’s five thirty in the morning” answered Raven, turning her attention back to the mug “I never thought something other than Christmas morning would make you get up so early”

“Five thirty?” said Beast Boy, looking at the microwave’s digital clock “Oh no, it’s gonna take so long until she… I mean, everyone wakes up”

Raven didn’t say anything, going to the table, putting her mug down and opening her book. Robin also turned back to his computer, with a light mocking smile on his lips.

Beast Boy leant against the counter, thinking. He couldn’t go back to sleep, since he was so anxious. But Terra would probably sleep for too long, especially after such a troubled night… Then, a click was heard coming of his head.

“I got it!” he yelled, causing Robin to miss a key and Raven to burn her upper lip “I’m gonna cook a special breakfast! And we can celebrate that Terra joined the team!”

Robin and Raven looked at each other. The calm and quiet morning they always had to take care of his business was ruined. The empath was particularly annoyed, as she touched her burned lip with a shining finger, healing it. She sighed and got up, the book on one hand and the mug on the other.

“Hey Raven, where are you going?” asked the green boy, taking soy products off the fridge.

“I’m going to my room, where is quiet” she answered.

“Oh, ok. But you’re coming for breakfast, right? I mean, at least to welcome Terra?”

“Whatever…” she replied as the door closed behind her, stopping Beast Boy of keep trying to convince her.

Beast Boy stopped for a second, thinking about going after her, but then shrugged, giving up. He wanted to focus on his treat for Terra.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

“You did a really good job, Beast Boy!” said Robin, sitting at the table “I’m sure terra is gonna feel welcome”

“Yes, friend Beast Boy, everything is gorgeous, and it looks delicious!” Starfire clapped.

“What a waste…” said Cyborg with a sad expression “So many good stuff, made of… Tofu”

“ _You_ are not suppose to like it” said Beast Boy, until that moment feeling very proud of himself “Terra is suppose to like it”

“Still a failure to me” grumbled Cyborg, going to the fridge and picking milk, eggs and bacon. Beast Boy stared at him, annoyed.

“What about the special guest?” asked Raven with her arms crossed, since she was dragged there by Beast Boy.

“She’s coming” answered Starfire, who shared her room with the blonde “The poor thing got really exhausted after last night’s events”

“So Robin, is she really joining the team?” asked Raven, picking up an apple.

“Of course she is!” yelled Beast Boy before Robin could say anything “And don’t eat before she arrives! I mean, please, wait just a second” he quickly added when the empath stared at him.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a problem, Raven” said Robin, ignoring the changeling “I mean, she has great potential, and she really gets along with all of us. Besides, she needs help. Not only with her powers, but, you know… A place to stay, so she doesn’t have to wander around”

“But are you sure we can trust her?” asked Raven again, lowering her voice, so Beast Boy, currently yelling at Cyborg over the meat’s scent, couldn’t hear them.

“I can’t be sure Raven, but…” Robin shrugged “Honestly, I don’t think she’s a willing betrayer. She lived alone all this time. She didn’t have connections with heroes and, hopefully, either with villains. She’s just a lost girl. Luckily we found her before somebody else did. You saw how Slade tried to recruit her”

Raven was about to argue, but in that moment the doors slid, and a thin, pale and blonde girl came in. She was wearing worn out civil clothes and had an insecure look.

“Terra!” yelled Beast Boy and Starfire together. The alien girl flew to her friend and pulled her to the table.

“Friend Terra, look at what friend Beast Boy did to celebrate your addition to our family!”

The table was covered with plates of pancakes and waffles, soy milk and orange juice’s jugs, pans full of scramble and fried soy eggs and a variety of other soy dishes. At one corner, which Beast Boy tried to hide, there were actual fried eggs, bacon and ham, that Cyborg had just made, and a cart of milk.

“Wow, that’s so amazing!” said the blonde girl with an incredible look “Nobody has ever done something like this for me. Thank you, Beast Boy!”

Beast Boy blushed as much as his green skin allowed him to, scratching the back of his neck.

“No biggie” he mumbled “You deserve all that”

“You know, you don’t have to eat all this junk just ‘cause BB cooked it for you, girl” said Cyborg, breaking the weird mood “He’s used to it, Raven threw all the tofu on his head once. Here’s the real food.”

“Shut up Cyborg, and take all that slaughter off her face!” yelled Beast Boy, taking the bacon plate off his friend’s hands and passing a pancake’s one to Terra.

“You take this savorless stuff off the table!”

Terra and Starfire laughed, as Raven rolled her eyes finishing her apple, and Robin opened his newspaper, ignoring his friends.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

After breakfast, Starfire took Terra shopping to buy new clothes and fabric to sew a super hero uniform. Meanwhile, the other titans prepared the new friend’s room.

Beast Boy couldn’t stop talking about how fun it was going to be and how amazing Terra was and how they all could do things together. Whenever he was told to shut up, he started to give new ideas about the room, and then he wanted to undo things the others had already made to redo with more details, or in another color. So he ended up being expelled from the decoration team and sent to help Robin to track criminals, where he also couldn’t stop talking, and was sent back to Raven and Cyborg, where it started all over again.

Finally, the room got ready. Even talking nonstop, Besat Boy really did give good ideas, like drawing mountains and rocks on the walls and a starry sky on the ceiling. The furniture were just like the others in the Tower, and there was also a television and a computer.

When Terra arrived, exhausted and full of bags with Starfire, carrying even more bags (since she decided to buy something for herself too), they took her to her new room, making her gasp and get a little emotional. Anyone could see in her face that she never felt as welcome as now.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Terra touched her eyes, wiping some tears and stopping more to come. After the surprise, she and the titans had dinner, and she thanked them over a thousand times. More than a team, she was starting to feel part of a family. Now she was organizing her new clothes in her new wardrobe in her new room.

The fabrics, mainly black, brown and yellow, her favorite colors, were on the center table, along with some sketches she draw with Starfire and Beast Boy of her future super hero uniform. She spotted her worn out backpack, that accompanied her for so many travelling years on a corner.

She went to the backpack and opened it, seeing the few things that helped her for so long. She picked up her yellow flashlight, which lightened her scariest nights. Her other two T-shirts and other short, also old and stained. Her toothbrush, her hairbrush and a switchblade she won when she worked at the carnival.

In that moment, the wind moved the clouds, uncovering the moon, and Terra saw something shine on her bed. She left the backpack and ran to see, on top of her pillow, her butterfly hairpin. She smiled, pinning it to her hair. She thought it was lost. When she turned to see herself on the mirror, nest to the wardrobe, something slid off her backpack, hitting her leg.

“What the…” she muttered, looking down. At her feet there was something she had never seen before.

Terra bent down, picking it up. It was some kind of ancient clock. It was made of thick, hard glass. Outside, there were carven lines making the drawing of what look like a mountain, and the edges had golden metal coated. Inside, there was an hourglass, with thick sand sliding from the upper ampoule to the bottom. Terra was delighted. It was a very beautiful object. But where did it come from?

There was a knock on the door, startling Terra and almost making her drop the clock. Since it was heavy, she put it on a shelf in the wardrobe before answering the door.

“Hi, Terra!”

“Oh, hi, Beast Boy, you startled me”

“Sorry about that”

“It’s okay. Still up?”

“Well, yeah, but so is you!”

“I’m organizing my things in the new bedroom” she explained smiling “By the way BB, do you know what…”

The changeling saw the hairpin on her blonde hair and answered before she could finish the sentence:

“You found it! I left it there to surprise you!”

“Oh, so it were you!” she said relieved, misunderstanding as the clock “Thank you so much, Beast Boy, you didn’t have to”

“Well, you know, I found it and I thought you may like it”

‘Of a clock…? Weird, but better go along with it’ she thought ‘It was probably expensive’

“Yeah, sure, it is pretty. And practical as well”

“I thought so too” Beast Boy smiled “Well Terra, I just came to check on you. I’m going to bed now”

“Sure, you guys must have gone through a lot of troubled”

“No way, it was fun! Good night”

“Good night, BB. See you tomorrow”

“See ya. And be prepared, cause tomorrow there’s practice” he warned her “Robin can be a pain in the ass… He’ll probably go worst on you because you…”

Terra stared at him as Beast Boy realized his mistake.

“Well, cause you’re new in the team and… You know, stuff…”

“Good night, Beast Boy” said Terra with a crooked smile, closing the door.

“…Night” said Beast Boy, hitting his head on the wall.

Inside her bedroom, Terra put the clock on top of the nightstand next to her bed. It gave her a safety feeling. Probably because it was a gift from Beast Boy. He was her best friend. With a last view of the running sand, Terra fell asleep.

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Offer

July 31st 2004, Beast Boy’s bedroom, 11:15 am

Beast Boy had wake up some time ago, but remained lying in bed. The sun was on his face, making him cover his eyes with his arm, and he could hear the waves crashing against the rocks of the little island. This was the day.

Terra was in the team for six months already. At first, she got a little shy, not totally certain of what was happening, kind of expecting to wake up at any moment, still alone at some dark cave. But after she was sure, she finally relaxed and went back to her true self: noisy, messy, oblivious, hungry, and more importantly, fun. Even if at the end of the day she was exhausted, because Robins trained her daily, so she could control her powers completely.

After one month of Terra’s arrival, Beast Boy decided to ask her out, and for his surprised, she accepted. Little by little, they ended up going out every weekend and spending a large amount of time together, just the two of them. They discovered a lot of things they had in common.

So, about two weeks ago, Beast Boy decided to ask Terra to be his girlfriend. At first he went to Cyborg.

_July 18 th 2004, Titan Tower’s workshop, 1:44 pm_

_“Girlfriend? Like seriously?” asked Cyborg, chocked._

_“Well, yeah” Beast Boy raised his hands “What do you think?”_

_“I don’t know, BB” said the robot man, scratching the back of his neck “Isn’t a little too soon?”_

_“Too soon? Man, we’ve been going out for like five months!” said Beast Boy, gesturing._

_“But BB, you guys are too young! You’re what? Like thirteen?”_

_“Thirteen?! Man, I’m fifteen!” yelled Beast Boy, angry._

_“Fifteen?” asked Cyborg, skeptical, looking his friend up and down._

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“Fourteen and a half, okay” said Beast Boy, looking away._

_Cyborg lifted his eyebrows._

_“Fine, fourteen!” the changeling yelled, pulling his ears down “That’s not important!”_

_“Okay, BB, fine” laughed Cyborg, turning back to his car “Well, if you really like her, and it seems like you do, I say: go ahead”_

_“So, you think she’s gonna say yes?” Beast Boy’s eyes sparkled._

_“I didn’t say that. I just said that you should give it a try. She’s the one deciding in the end”_

_“Okay, thanks, Cyborg” said Beast Boy smiling “I’m gonna do it!”_

_“Hey BB, one more thing”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“I kinda like that girl too” he said, serious, pointing a wrench to his friend’s face “So you better think twice before doing something that may hurt her”_

_“… Okay, Cyb” answered Beast Boy, staring at the heavy tool._

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July 31st 2004, Terra’s bedroom, 2:20 pm

Terra was at the same position for about half an hour, lying on her belly in bed, one leg hanging in the air and one arm twisted on her back, sleeping with her mouth open. Robin made her get up at six o’clock every morning every day on the week. They trained until nine, then had breakfast, went back to train at ten thirty and only stopped at noon for lunch. The blonde always eat a lot and slept until three, when the boy wonder called her again to train until five. Today, however, he had a theft to investigate, so she could take the afternoon off.

Terra was getting a lot better with fights and skills, but honestly, the control of her powers weren’t changing too much.

Knocks on the door. Terra moved. The knocks kept coming. She sat on the bed, sleepy.

“Is that you, Robin?” she asked, fearful of her leader had finished the task before expected.

“No, Terra, it’s me. Beast Boy”

Terra jumped off bed and ran to the bathroom. She washed her face and brushed her hair. Then she walked casually to the door.

“What’s up, BB” she greeted him smiling. The green boy also smiled and blushed. He still hadn’t got used to her super hero costume: a black cropped top shirt with a yellow T in a yellow circle, a yellow short, gloves and boots.

“Hi, Terra” he mumbled, looking down. The blonde realized he was holding something on his back “I… Came to ask you something”

“What do you have back there?” she asked curiously, tilting her head.

“Well…” Beast Boy tried to hide it, but gave up “Okay, I made this for you. I was gonna give it to you on the weekend, but since you had the day off…”

The changeling brought his hands from the back, revealing a package, which Terra took carefully.

“Wow, Beast Boy, that’s awesome!” she said, eyes sparkling. It was a metal box heart shaped, with a mirror inside “Thank you so much!”

“Okay Terra, I did this for… A special occasion” said Beast Boy, and the blonde waited, looking at him with her blue eyes “I…”

And then the alarm started ringing. A red light blinked over them every two seconds. Beast Boy’s expression didn’t really change, he just got paralyzed. Terra ran to her room, saved the bow inside a drawer, got her pair of goggles on top of the table and went back to the hallway, where the changeling was standing still. She took him by the arm and dragged him to the common room.

When they arrived, the other three team members were already there, around the gigantic screen, showing numerous slabotes in white hallways, exploding walls.

“Slade” whispered Terra, frightened.

“He managed to break into a very important building, full of stuff to steal” said Robin, not turning to the group “Obviously, the sladebotes are suppose to confuse us about his target”

“So what do we do?” asked Cyborg.

“I had a hint for this theft” answered Robin, turning, and changing the image on the screen to a plant of the building “There are three possible targets”

On the screen, three red dots blinked in different places of the building. Two at the last floor and one in the underground.

“Why is there a dot underground?” asked Starfire.

“It’s one of the building’s floors. The most protected places are the top and some secret rooms they built underground” explained Robin “It looks easy to get in, but it’s a place full of tricks. Not even Slade is gonna be able to put his hands on his target in at least half an hour”

“So he sent the slabotes to get time” said Beast Boy, waking up.

“Exactly” Robin turned off the screen “Titans, divide! Starfire and I are going to attack the left half of the top of the building. Cyborg and Beast Boy, you go to the right half. Terra and Raven…”

“We go underground” completed Raven, serious.

“Robin, do you think I can…”

“No, Beast Boy” answered the leader before he could finish his request “Terra still can’t fully control her powers, so Raven will go with her to help her if she needs it, something you cannot do”

“But if I…” started Beast Boy again, but none of his colleagues gave him attention. Raven and Starfire flew through the window and Robin and Cyborg ran to the garage. Terra put her goggles on.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine” she said with a smile, jumping through the window, to land on a floating rock. Beast Boy sighed and followed her as an eagle.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Raven assumed her spectral form as soon as she saw the building and went inside the ground, looking for the secret floor. She found a parking lot, and went deeper. At last, she crossed a wall and went back to her normal form, finding herself at a wide hallway with white walls and black marble floor. Everything was suspiciously quiet.

“Robin” she called, picking up her communicator “Everything calm at the underground. No slabote, nothing destroyed, and I can only feel some employee’s presence, probably hiding”

“Well, that’s weird” answered the leader, from a very agitated and noisy place “Up here is chaos. I doubt Slade doesn’t know about the underground’s existence.”

“Do you want me to go up and help?”

“No. It’s too suspicious. Stay there, help the employees out of the building and take a look around. Where’s Terra?”

Before Raven could answer that, the whole place started shaking, a hole opened up on the ceiling, and Terra fell on her feet.

“Geez Raven, you could have waited for me” she said, as the hole closed up.

“Do as I say. I have to go now” said Robin, and the screen turned dark.

“What did he say?” asked the blonde.

“He told us to help the people down here and explore the place” Raven replied, emotionlessly.

“Okay… Where to now?”

“There’re two people this way” she pointed left of the hallway “And one person that way” she pointed right “It’s faster if we split, but you think you can handle that by yourself?”

“I can!” said Terra, excited. Raven never let her do anything by her own when she was on charge. The empath looked at her, insecure “Please, Rave! I’ve been in the team for six months. Is it still not enough for you to trust me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Terra, it’s just that I know how hard keep control can be” said Raven, lowering her hood “It took me years to learn how to control my powers, and even today, if I don’t meditate, they can go out”

Terra sighed, looking down, and muttered “You’re right. Raven rolled her eyes up.

“Okay, Terra” she said, and the blonde stared at her with sparkling blue eyes “If you think you’re ready, go on. It’s your chance to prove me you can control yourself”

“Thank you so much, Raven!” yelled Terra, hugging her. Raven grimaced and departed her.

“Okay, so you go there” ordered Raven, pointing right “Find the employee, calm her down and take her to the surface in safety. We’ll meet up there, so we can go back together to start searching for Slade”

“Yes, ma’am!” said Terra, saluting her and running right. Raven stared at her for a moment, wondering if she made the right decision, put her hood back on and flew at the opposite direction.

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The Choice

Terra was feeling proud of herself. After some minutes searching, she found the person: a woman in a white coat, frightened for not being able to go anywhere, since the elevators, only way out, were off, and neither talk to other people, since all the phones were mute and the cell phones didn’t have signal.

Terra calmed her down and was now taking her to the surface through the tunnel she had made on her way down. As soon as they got to Jump City’s streets, the woman hugged her and thanked her as much as she could. Police men and ambulances were ready to receive her. They informed her that Raven had already gone there, but had only brought one civilian. Terra thought it was weird, and that maybe Raven needed her help. She tried to reach her friend over the communicator, but she didn’t answer. Without really thinking about it, she ran off down again.

When she got there, at the same spot she and Raven met the first time, she didn’t see anyone. She ran in the direction Raven had gone, but didn’t find her colleague or the civilian. Then her communicator rang.

“Raven” she yelled, answering “Raven?”

“Terra!” said Raven, looking pissed off “Where are you? They told me you came and went back”

“They told me the same about you, so I came down to help you” replied Terra, scratching her head. She could see she was gonna get a reprimand “What a mismatch, huh”

“Terra, we agreed on meeting up here! I came back because, since they were both really nervous, I decided to bring one and then the other”

“Why didn’t you answer your communicator then?”

“Probably because I was teleporting, at the inter dimensional space there’s no signal” said Raven without patience “How long did you wait until going down to ‘help me’?”

“Hmm…” muttered Terra, biting her bottom lip. She really wasn’t that patient. Actually, she didn’t wait for Raven. After two missing calls, she came back to the underground without a plan.

“Thought so” said Raven in a blaming tone “You’re too impatient and impulsive, Terra. I’m going down. I hope you can wait five minutes without panicking”

The screen went dark. Terra got angry. Raven didn’t need to scold her like that for such a little mistake. Afterall, she did save the civilian, didn’t she? She didn’t even lose control.

Suddenly, Terra heard a loud noise and a cry. Not too far away. She wanted to run in that direction, but thought about Raven. She would get furious if Terra didn’t wait for her. She heard the noise again. Terra didn’t think twice and ran in its direction.

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Raven got to the place where she had last felt Terra’s presence when she was at the surface. She wasn’t there. Raven’s violet hair lifted on a wave and she put her hands on her head to control herself. What an irresponsible, impulsive girl… She muttered her mantra (Azarath Metrion Zinthos) and sighed. Then she tried to concentrated and look for her telepathically.

She found her not too far from there… Why is she—She suddenly opened her eyes. Very close to Terra, she felt somebody else’s presence. A cold, evil presence.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

The more Terra ran, the louder the screams got. They were acute screams… The blonde ran even faster at the thought that it might be a child. At last, she got to a metallic and smooth door. There was a sign on it saying ‘Restricted Area – Entry Forbidden’ and next to the door, on the wall, there was a little panel with numbered keys. She needed a password.

“I don’t have time for this…” groaned Terra as she heard another scream. A middle size rock raised from the floor and shocked against the panel. It exploded, but the door remained closed. Another shout. She would have to break it. A much larger rock undocked itself from the ground and ran thought the door, ripping it out. Terra got in, rushed.

“Hello?” she called, since the room was dark “Is there anyone…”

In that moment, a red light shine inside the room and a loud alarm started ringing. A feminine voice repeated ‘Invasion’ over and over again, and from the ceiling thick metal boards covered the walls. All exits were locked. Terra fell. Another shout. The alarm stopped, everything got dark once again, and at last, the room got illuminated with white light.

There were a number of shelves in the room. Four were down. The origin of the noises. On top of a desk was a little recorder from all the screams were coming from. A metal covered hand turned it off.

“Hello, Terra. Can we talk?”

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“Robin!” yelled Raven to the communicator “Robin, pick up!”

“What is it, Raven?” asked Robin’s image at the little screen.

“Slade’s here” answered her in a dark tone “He locked Terra at one of the rooms”

“What? How did he…”

“He attracted her to one of the most protected rooms while I wasn’t around, and she went for it. When she broke in…”

“… She activated the security system” completed Robin “Can’t you go in?”

“No, whoever runs this building protected it with spells that confuse me when I try to teleport inside”

“Well, we’re done with the slabots, and all the civilians were taken away in safety” he informed “We’re going down”

“What happened?” Beast Boy appeared, sharing the screen with Robin “Is Terra in danger?”

“Yes, Slade’s got her” answered Raven, rolling her eyes. She thought that was pathetic.

“I’m coming down!” yelled Beast Boy, turning off. Robin grimaced and turned it off too.

Raven sighed. She could imagine what Slade wanted from Terra. This was Terra’s real chance to prove herself.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

“Hello, Terra” said Slade in his calm tone “Can we talk?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you” replied Terra, quickly getting up.

“Oh, but I think you do” retorted him, approaching her “I gave you six months, Terra. What are you thinking of life at the Titan’s Tower? Did you have fun?”

“That’s not of your business” she ran far from him, to the opposite wall, where she started to punch the metal.

“There’s no point, Terra. This is made of very strong material, it’s gonna take a while till you can get out of here”

“Well, we’ll just see about that!” said Terra, her eyes shining with yellow light. Nothing happen “What the…”

“It’s coated with three boards just like that, terra” informed Slade, evil pleasure coming out of every word “Also the floor and the ceiling. It can stop people with a stone crusher. You’ll have to make an enormous effort to take a little stone off your dear earth”

Terra gasped and ran behind a desk with computers. It should be true, she could feel a big distance between her and the earth, feeling an incredible difficulty whenever she tried to take a piece of the earth, something that never happened before. She was getting claustrophobia. She tried to reach someone over the communicator, but the screen only showed static, and no sound came out of it.

“Your communicator is not going to work either. There’s no other option, Terra” Slade’s smooth voice came to her ears again “You are going to listen to me, and you are going to give me a straight answer today”

“What do you want?” she asked in a shaking voice. She had never felt so defenseless before.

“I only want to help you, Terra. I want to look into your eyes while we talk”

Terra bit her lip. She was scared to death, but she stood up and stared at the villain.

“Very well. See, we’re already starting to get along” said Slade with a fake fatherly tone “Now tell me, how better is your control over your powers after the six months you spent with the titans?”

“I… It’s a lot better” lied Terra, her mouth dry “Robin’s been helping a lot and…”

“That’s not going to work if you lie to me, girl” Slade sounded really angry for the first time since she came into the room. Really dangerous “I know it’s not helping at all. You may have improved you fighting capacities, but not control. Robin doesn’t know what you need. I do”

“But I… I don’t want to do bad things” muttered Terra, looking down.

“Why not, Terra?” asked Slade, slowing approaching her “Wasn’t life bad to you? Wasn’t bad all it had offered you? Weren’t people bad to you? You never wished to be able to paid them back? All these common, inferior people, people that can’t see how special you are and that reject you when you lose control of one little thing?”

Terra didn’t answer. Her head was tilted, and blonde locks of hair covered her expression.

“Six months. No improvement. Don’t you think Robin has noticed?” Slade touched the wound, talking about what Terra was working not to think about in the last few weeks “He thinks greatly about himself, he won’t think he’s the problem, but that it’s you. How long do you think he’s going to wait until he considers you a lost case and expel you from the team?”

“No… Stop. You’re wrong” tears slid across her earth stained face. Slade got really close without her realize. He lifted her chin with surprisingly tenderness.

“Join me, Terra. Only I can help you” whispered Slade, staring at her with his only eye “What are your attaches? Beast Boy? You think he’s good enough for you? He’s the weakest of them all…”

Terra couldn’t look away from Slade’s eye. It was blue, just like hers. But a darker, stronger blue. Secure and confident. They weren’t green or weak.

It was a very tempting offer. In that look she saw real confidence. In that look she could trust. He really could her teach her how to control her powers. And alongside with control, would come more and more power. No one would ever dare to tell her she wasn’t good enough again. And if she was consider dangerous, it wouldn’t be because she could lose control at any moment, but because she could lose patience at any moment… She remember Raven’s scold and mistrustful looks.

But she remembered something else. The figure she saw the day she ran away from the titans. That familiar figure, that reminded her… of herself. And what it said…

_“And never ever listen to Slade. He’s going to be your damnation. You must protect yourself from him”_

He would be her damnation…

She walked backwards, letting herself go of Slade’s fingers. The ground started shaking. She couldn’t make a decision. From outside came her friend’s voices.

“Tic tac, Terra” said Salde, getting away from her “You really are a time bomb, aren’t you?”

“No” she muttered.

“What’s that?”

“I said no” the whole place was trembling now “I’m not going to join you. Never ask me to again. We’re enemies now. I’ll always be a teen titan”

The villain didn’t get a chance to reply that. Pointed rocks came out of the ground. In that moment, green rays came from the wall, making a circle that was soon flung, and the five titans came inside. Robin ran to Slade, Starfire and Beast Boy to Terra, and Raven and Cyborg tried to avoid the place to collapse.

Terra fell down, since she used too much energy and strength to do this. Starfire took her in her arms before she could hit the ground and lay her down, where Beast Boy received her. Slade ran off and despite Robin’s efforts, escaped once again. The shaking stopped, thanks to Raven’s actions. Cyborg saved the building’s computers and experiments, taking the rocks before they could hit them. He knew that if they got lost over one of the team’s members, it would cause a big headache for the titans.

Finally, that mission came to an end.

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“Terra?”

“Hey, BB. Come in”

Terra was laying in her bed, with some bandages on her arms and legs. She was wearing normal clothes.

“I can’t believe Cyborg let you out of the infirmary” said Beast Boy, coming closer.

“I can’t believe Robin let you came to see me” she retorted. They both looked at each other.

“I won’t tell if you won’t” said the changeling, making her laugh.

“Deal”

“Terra, did Slade hurt you?”

“No, BB, don’t worry, he didn’t do anything to me” she answered without looking at him “He just ask me to join him again”

“This guy doesn’t know when to give up!” said Beast Boy, angry “How can he not realized you’re with us, that you’re not like him?”

“I know…” mumbled Terra, ashamed to think that she did consider his proposition. She saw the heart shaped box he gave her earlier and decided to change the subject “So what did you want to tell me before, BB?”

“Hm? Oh, that!” he blushed “I wanted to ask you something…”

“What’s that?” she asked. His green eyes met hers. Weak eyes. She couldn’t see the confidence she saw on Slade’s eye.

“Would… Would you be my girlfriend, Terra?”

The proposition got her by surprise, although she should have imagined something like that.

“I…” she didn’t really. She assumed they were only having fun. Nothing serious. They were too young for that, really. But… maybe a commitment like that would stop her from being tempted by Slade’s offer again. It was for the best.

“I will, Beast Boy”

His green eyes sparkle more than ever, and he leaned and kissed her.

Inside Terra’s wardrobe, on a shelf, the hourglass’s sand started to shine. The drawings on the box around it changed slightly: the future was changing.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Training

“Friend Terra?” asked Starfire, entering the common room “Would you like to accompany me to the mall to…?”

The Tamarean suddenly stopped, seeing her friend’s expression. Terra was sitting on the couch, watching the News. At the moment, scenes of interdicted streets flashed on the screen, near the region they had been the previous night. There were a lot of building with broken windows, streets and sidewalks with deep cracks, and some places had water and sewer leakage. A lot of workers were needed to start the repairs. Every word that came out of the reporter’s mouth made Terra’s face wilt a little more.

“Oh, friend Terra, please don’t be like this” asked Starfire, kneeling next to her “They are going to fix this very quickly, you’ll see!”

“Star, look at all the damage!” said Terra, getting up “And it’s all my fault!”

“It’s not your fault, Terra!” said Beast Boy, coming from the kitchen “I told you a million times already! You had to do that, or else Slade…”

“And I already told you, BB. I totally lost it. I didn’t have to do that, if I waited a little more you guys would get in to help me”

“But friend, you were under a huge pression! All of us know how Slade can be scary, especially to you, since you’re not used to him yet” argued Starfire “Anyone could lose control in that situation”

“Not Raven…” she muttered, crossing her arms. Beast Boy uncrossed them and took her hands in his.

“Raven’s been practicing for a lot longer than you” he said “She had those monks to help her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she told me she practices even since she was like six”

“Ever since I was five” replied Raven, after quietly entering the room and making Beast Boy jump “Besides, that doesn’t mean I don’t still keep working to this day”

“So it is my fault!” groaned Terra, putting a cushion over her face.

“Of course not! That’s not what you meant, right, Rae?”

“It’s Raven”

“But Robin’s been training you so hard!” commented Starfire, putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder “This is surely helping you out, right?”

“Well, don’t tell Robin, but…”

“It’s not really working, is it?” asked Robin right behind her, coming out of the shadows.

“Where the hell did you came from?” yelled Terra, startled.

“I’m sorry, Terra” said Robin, sitting at a computer “I think I focus too much on regular trainings and didn’t realize you need something special. I’ll work on it, I’ll start researching now!”

“Wow… Thanks, Robin”

“There’s no need for thanks. You’re a member of the team now, and we all are going to do all we can to help ya!” said Cyborg, placing his metallic hand over her head.

“… Are there secret doors to this room I don’t know about?” asked her, but Cyborg only laughed and went to the fridge.

She smiled, looking around to all of her friends, also smiling to her. Well, except for Raven, already out of the room. She was probably meditating, thought Terra. How badly she wanted to know how to control her powers in such an elegant, complete way as her friend!

Wait a minute.

… Why not?

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Raven was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, reading a book, although she couldn’t leave a specific line.

“---“

It has been hard with Terra on the team. She was too irresponsible. From the empath’s point of view, she wasn’t really trying hard enough to control her powers. She went to the practice, that’s true, but even though she knew they weren’t working, she did nothing to change, didn’t try to focus or search for a reason to her loss of control.

“---“

Besides, on the field she was way too impulsive. She didn’t stop to think about anything or anyone, least of all the consequences of her acts. She also let her emotions take the best of her. Didn’t she realize how dangerous that was? It was dangerous for anyone on mission, most of all someone like her.

“---“

And there was Beast Boy, of course. Didn’t he realize how ridiculous he got around Terra? Drooling all over her in an obvious way, doing everything she wanted. That was probably the reason why she got so spoiled, it had to be. Besides, obvious affection demonstrations like these only gave villains opportunities. Robin should control the situation. Not that this would go too far. She could feel their emotions; Terra barely felt half of what Beast Boy felt for her. He really shouldn’t give his heart away so easily, he could get hurt.

“---“

… At least Beast Boy didn’t come disturb her anymore. The only good side.

Knocks on the door.

Raven quickly lifted her head, with an anxious expression, instead of annoyed, as usual. She noticed that and frowned. ‘Looks like I celebrated too soon’ she thought, because it could only be the annoying changeling. He was the only one that came to bother her at this time of the day. All of the others only came at meal times or the end of the afternoon, when they wanted to watch a movie or play a game, to invite her.

More knocks. Yes, like she thought. He was the only one that didn’t wait a whole minute before knocking again. She closed the book and got up, going to the door. When she opened, however, she found something quite disappointing. I mean, unexpected.

“Terra?”

“Hi, Raven” the blonde said. She seemed embarrassed “Hmm, sorry to bother you”

“What is it? Some kind of problem?”

“Well, no, it’s just… I kind of came to ask you for a favor”

Raven lifted her eyebrows. She couldn’t possibly think of something the blonde colleague would want for her.

“What is it?”

“Well, you know how Robin’s trainings aren’t really helping me control my powers, right?”

“Yes…”

“So, well, I thought to myself, who is the self control expert?”

“…Who?” asked Raven, not liking the path the conversation was taking.

Terra lifted her arms toward the empath, with a crooked smile.

“Oh. No” said Raven, realizing what her friend wanted.

“Please Raven” asked Terra, joining her hands “I think you’re the only person that can really help me”

“But…” mumbled Raven, at a dead end. Inside the Tower, she was probably the best option indeed “But I don’t know anything about teaching, Terra”

“Can’t you at least try? Just once? If it doesn’t work out we can stop”

“I…” started Raven, then she saw Terra’s big and tearful blue eyes. She sighed “Fine. But just so you know, I won’t give you an easy time, Terra. My way of power control is not fun”

“I know, I know!” Terra was delighted, jumping on the same spot “Don’t worry, I‘ll give everything I’ve got! I really want to control my powers like you do, Raven”

‘That’s a good one’ thought Raven. The fun and perfect Terra wanting to be like the weird and boring Raven ‘Well, let’s see how long she can take my training’

“Okay. Tomorrow, five o’clock, at the Tower’s balcony” she said, going back to her bedroom. Terra gasped, holding the door before it could close.

“Five o’clock pm?”

“Obviously not, Terra. Five o’clock am”

“…”

“See you then”

“Oh, wait, Raven!” the empath turned to her again “I have good news, Beast Boy and I are dating!”

Raven stood there, staring at her for a few seconds. The hallway light blinked some times.

“Congratulations” said Raven, and door closed.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

August 2nd 2004, 5:02 am

Terra arrived at the balcony out of breath, after climbing the stairs in a hurry. It was still dark, but it wasn’t hard to find Raven, she only had to follow her voice, saying her mantra over and over. When Terra approached her, she stopped talking, but remained in the same position: crossed legs and closed eyes.

“Hey Raven”

“Good morning, Terra” replied Raven, still with her eyes closed “Are you ready for your first training?”

“Couldn’t be more ready!” said Terra with a little jump.

“Very well. Sit down by my side” ordered Raven, very calm. She started talking without opening her eyes “Terra, before trying to control your powers, you have to understand how they work. Otherwise, you’ll never know _what_ to control. For instance, my powers are moved by my emotions. If I lose control of them, I lose control of my powers as well. They will express themselves without my permission. In Starfire’s case, feeling _is_ the way she control her powers. Each one of them depends on a specific emotion, but only expresses themselves when told to”

Raven opened her eyes to see if Terra was paying attention. The blonde girl had her huge eyes glued on her floating friend. Okay, she was.

“The crucial difference: when Starfire feels sad, she can’t fly, because that ability requires that she felt joy. When I got sad or mad, things exploded all around me, because my powers escape and manifest according to my dominant emotion. Got it?”

“Yes” said Terra, listening carefully.

“So, let’s try to understand your powers. Move that rock” Raven pointed to a tiny little rock at the right corner of the Tower. She must have put it there before Terra arrived.

“Easy” answered Terra, and the rock lifted in the air and flew to the blonde’s hand.

“What did you feel?”

“Hmm… I don’t know” realized Terra, confused “I never pay attention to it, it’s so natural…”

“You don’t know what you felt, but I do” said Raven mysteriously “Put on the other side of the Tower.”

Terra did. When she turned back, Raven was with her eyes closed again.

“Did you figure it out?”

“No… I don’t think I feel anything, Raven. I’d feel the exact same thing if I got up and walked there to pick it up”

“Really? Then do it”

Terra got up and went to the rock, bringing it back.

“So?”

“Nothing special…” Terra shrugged.

“Okay, so this is your first training exercise” said Raven, and Terra got excited “There’s four rocks up here, one at each corner of the Tower. I want you to take one, take it to the next corner, leave it and take the other, then do the same thing.”

“How many times?”

“Until I tell you to stop”

“…”

“You’re still here?” asked Raven, opening one threatening eye. Terra ran off to the left corner of the Tower.

Terra did this for about half an hour, at first quickly, and at the end dragging herself. She was starving, and she looked at her friend every five minutes, but Raven remained meditating, almost like she’s forgotten all about her. The worst thing was that she didn’t see a point on this training! So she was losing all interest on doing it. She simply didn’t feel anything, why couldn’t Raven accept that?

Finally, Raven called her.

“So?” she asked leaving her lotus position and putting her feet on the ground “Did you find out what you feel to take the rock?”

“No, Raven” answered Terra, sitting on the floor “It was the silliest exercise I’ve ever done, I couldn’t see any purpose on doing it, and I was almost giving up when you called me”

“So why did you keep doing it?”

“Because you told me to, and you’re my coach!”

“So, there is a reason, and if there’s a reason, there’s a feeling involved”

“…”

“Look, why would you pick up a rock?”

“I don’t know, I find it pretty? I want to throw it at someone?”

“So you _want_ to get it”

“Well, if I didn’t, why would I picked it up?”

“Exactly, Terra. What you feel is determination”

“So… You’re telling me what moves my powers is determination?”

“It’s something you feel. We evolved”

“… Not really. Wasn’t that a little obvious?”

“If it was obvious, why couldn’t you tell me that when I asked you the first time?”

“…” Terra was left without words.

“So, we evolved” said Raven, covering her whole boy with her cloak as a gust of wind blow “Now we know your powers do have something to do with your emotions. What is left for us to know is…”

“If my emotions control them or cause them to be out of control” complete Terra, remembering the way Raven’s and Starfire’s powers worked.

“Yes. Let’s go eat something, and we’ll come back here”

Terra watched Raven disappearing in the stairs that lead back inside of the Tower. She looked around, saw the city, and remembered the destruction she caused.

She still had hope her powers were like Starfire’s.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The text Raven was reading was taken from the tale "The Rats in the Walls" by H.P.Lovecraft.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Air Date of the Episode 'Spellbound': October 9, 2004

Chapter 7 – Stankball Game

Two months went by. The training sessions with Raven couldn’t be having better results. The empath made Terra take several of tests so they could understand how her powers worked, and they talked a lot about the moments that she lost control completely and how she felt during them. Soon they realized she only lost control at critical occasions. When she felt fear, angry or distress. Her powers tried to give her what she wanted most in the situation: to escape.

Terra got really relieved when they realized her powers weren’t like Raven’s. She was afraid of living like her friend, without feeling anything all the time. According to Raven, that was how she lived. But Raven told her that her powers obeyed to her at all times. But on critical moments, she couldn’t think straight, her heart’s orders prevailed, and her powers follow it, and that was something very difficult to control.

That was what they focus from then on. Raven made her meditate with her for two hours every morning, and meditate alone for one hour at the afternoon. That’s because in the morning, Raven helped her find her center and clear her mind. On the afternoon, she should try and do that for herself. After the morning meditation, Terra should run the Tower’s obstacle course trying to empty her mind of all thoughts that were not getting to the end of it. It was very hard at first, since Terra got distracted easily, but soon she learned how to concentrate and it became a natural thing for her to do whenever she fought.

After one month they reached the hardest part of her training: control the emotions that made her lose control. Raven told her to close hey eyes and created distressful situations in her mind. It was something extremely tiresome for both of them. Raven started with simple things, like someone taking her slice of pizza or running into her. At first, even those situations made the island tremble. After some sessions, nothing happen. So Raven slowly made the situations worst. Once, Raven made her see the Titan Tower in flames and all the titans dead. The island shook so much everything fell to the floor. To Terra’s surprise, Raven didn’t scold her, but apologized, telling her she wasn’t ready for that level yet.

Raven made her see Beast Boy kissing another girl, then everything fell off again. Then she made her see Slade asking her to join him, which caused a little earthquake. After situations like these, they meditate together and went back to the very same scene, until Terra could handle it. That really helped Terra. After two months, she barely lost control in any situation. Besides, she started to like and really trust Raven.

One day, when the two of them talked about their worst loss of control, she had an impulse of telling her how tempted she felt to accept Slade’s offer. But she got too scared of losing Raven’s trust, so she didn’t say anything.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

October 17th 2004, Beast Boy’s bedroom, 1:04 am

Beast Boy rolled from side to side on his bed, but couldn’t sleep. Even though he was exhausted from the fight he struggled alongside with his friends only a few hours ago, and the fact that he could feel every part of his body aching, he simply couldn’t sleep.

His anger for Malchior still throbbed in his head. He just could not believe he let a jerk inside a book hurt one of his best friends. And Raven, of all people, the one everyone suppose to be unreachable. He was also feeling a little guilty. Maybe if he hadn’t left her so alone, he could see what was going on and stopped it before it burst. But he didn’t have time for Raven anymore. He was with Terra now. And Terra wanted to do fun stuff all the time. He loved that so much, but he couldn’t let his friends. Especially Raven.

Deep down, he stopped seeing her because he felt guilty towards Terra. He was afraid that his blonde girlfriend would find out that one day, very far away, he had a _little_ crush on Raven. But he was totally over that. Even before Terra came around and he fell for her. Because Raven would never look at him that way. She barely even looked at him in any good way. She was… How can I say? Platonic.

But he had a special affection for Raven and he always would have. Just like he liked Starfire, and would also get really mad if she got hurt. But Raven was different. She didn’t show off when she wasn’t okay, and she didn’t let other see what was best for her.

“That’s it man” he thought, opening his eyes “I’m not going to let Raven go through something like this ever again. Everybody leaves her alone like she wants and don’t realize that’s not the best for her. So, if she likes it or not, I’ll take care for something like that not happen again. And Terra will understand. She also really likes Rae”

With these thoughs, he got up, put on his sneakers and ran to his friend’s room.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Raven had already fixed her room’s ceiling with her powers, and now she was organizing fallen and broken things. When she finished, she turned back to the book, left on the table. She took it carefully and kept it inside a chest with a sad look. Her heart ached more than her body because of the battle. She sighed and, before she could think about what to do, she heard a knock on the door.

“Raven” she heard Beast Boy’s voice “It’s me. Look, I’m sorry”

“For what? You’re not the one who…” she started.

“No… I’m sorry that… He broke your heart”

“I know it was all a lie… But he was the only person who ever make me feel like I wasn’t… creepy” she said “And don’t try to tell me I’m not”

“Okay. Fine. You’re way creepy” replied Beast Boy “But that doesn’t mean you have to stay lock in your room”

“You think you’re alone, Raven. But you’re not”

Suddenly, she came out of her room and hugged him, not really thinking about anything. As she hugged him, she felt warm and comforted. It was better than being alone trying not to feel what she couldn’t help feeling. Then she released him and step away, noticing that Beast Boy’s mind was in a big mess of feelings. Before she could sort which one was the strongest, a green ball hit the changeling’s head, taking him to the ground. It looks like they weren’t the only ones that couldn’t sleep. She turned and found Cyborg with a victorious smile, punching the air.

“Whohoo! Stakball!” he yelled

Raven knew this was pointless and childish. But she still had her heart warmed up, so she could not stop her happy emotion to pick the gross ball from her friend’s head and joining the stupid game.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

October 17th 2004, Titan Tower’s common room, 9:26 am

Terra bent the cereal’s box in a bowl and added milk and sugar. She passed the box to Starfire, who also bent it on a plate, but she added mustard. Robin was sitting at the alien’s other side, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Weird that Cyborg still hadn’t got up” said Terra, chewing her cereal.

“That is true” agreed Starfire “Usually, when I arrive, he’s already here preparing his breakfast based on eggs and pork meat”

“Last night I heard him and Beast Boy yelling through the halls” said Robin, without looking up “They were playing some ball game…”

“Stankball?” asked Terra “Weird. Yesterday, after that dragon battle, I was so tired I went straight to bed”

“Me too, although I was really concerned about our friend Raven” said Starfire “She must have been pretty sad”

“By the way Terra” Robin lowered the paper “Now that Malchior’s gone, and after Raven’s feeling better, I think it would be good if you guys continue your training”

“Oh… Okay” mumbled Terra, putting another cereal spoon on her mouth. The free training week was so good she was actually glad for Raven encountering that Malchior person. She could spent more time with Beast Boy and went out with Starfire. Besides, she particularly didn’t think she needed training anymore. It was under control.

In that moment, Cyborg came through the main doors, stretching and yawning.

“Friend Cyborg!” Starfire greeted him “We were wondering when you would get up!”

“I overslept…” he said, opening the door and picking eggs and some bacon “We couldn’t sleep yesterday so we played Stankball till like 2 am”

“You and BB?” asked Terra.

“Plus Raven” answered Cyborg with a smile. All three of them stopped what they were doing to look at him “As crazy as it sounds”

“Friend Raven played a game that involved running and throwing a ball?” asked Starfire, smiling “That’s wonderful! I was afraid she would be inconsolable!”

“That is great, I also thought she would take some time to recover” said Robin, also smiling.

“I think Beast Boy had something to do with it, because when I throw the ball at him, he was at her door” said Cyborg, frying his eggs “He’s gonna wake up late today…”

Terra, unlike her friends, wasn’t smiling. She was intrigued. What could her boyfriend had possibly done to make Raven, the most nagging person she’s ever met, happy enough to play Stankball? And why didn’t they invite her to play too?

Suddenly, the door opened and Raven went through it, floating. She looked as she always did, with a peaceful expression, but no smile.

“Good morning, friend Raven!” yelled Starfire, getting up and giving her a crushing hug “I’m so glad to know that you’re feeling better!”

“Ahhh… Good morning, Starfire” answered Raven out of breath “Thanks, I am”

The alien girl released her ans walk with her to the kitchen, where all of them greeted her with happy expressions. Except Terra, looking a little unsure, but she didn’t notice it. Raven put her kettle full with water on the fire to make her herbal tea, and the morning went like any other. Nobody talked about the last week’s events. Bu they all missed Beast Boy, who was usually blabbing and arguing with Cyborg about tofu.

Terra finished her bowl of cereal and was about to leave when Raven called her.

“I imagine you kept meditating this free week, right?” she asked, pouring the hot water from the kettle in a blue mug.

“Hmm…” started Terra. No, she hadn’t meditate a single time “Oh, yeah, but I forgot some days…”

“Right… We’ll pick up from where we left last time tomorrow, at the usual time” said Raven, putting the kettle down. Terra nodded and ran through the door, feeling discouraged about the prospect of waking up at five am again.

She decided to go check on Beast Boy. He had slept enough. She ran to his room and knock hard on the door to wake him up. She heard movement inside, then he appeared, eyes still closed and messy hair.

“Hey, BB” she said, leaning and kissing him on the lips. The changeling felt a chill down his spine and woke up immediately. Terra almost never kissed out of nowhere.

“Hey, Terra. I’m sorry, I overslept” he mumbled scratching his neck.

“It’s okay” she shrugged “I heard you had a game session with Cyborg and Raven last night”

“Oh yeah… We couldn’t sleep” replied Beast Boy. He didn’t really like Terra’s tone when she said that.

“So how did you make Miss Creepy play with you guys?”

“… I just went to talk to her about what happened. Er, don’t call her like this”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you were the one who said she was creepy” answered Terra with innocence.

“I know, and I take it back” he said, passing his fingers through his hair “I just don’t want this to happen again”

“This what?”

“Well, you know, she got heartbroken over a jerk”

“Oh, that’s right… BB, today is my last free day, don’t you want to go to the movies or something?”

“Sure Terra! I’m gonna get dress and we can go!” answered Beast Boy, going inside his room.

When they got back from the movies, Starfire called Terra to paint their nails in her room. That took about an hour. Coming out of her friend’s room, with her fingers separated and stretched, to the black enamel to dry, Terra spotted Beast Boy in front of Raven’s room, talking to her.

“Oh, Terra, good thing you’re here” said Raven looking at her “Could you please take your boyfriend away so I can meditate peacefully?”

“BB, are you bothering Raven again?” asked Terra laughing.

“I wasn’t bothering her, I was just inviting her to a Stankball match!” he defended himself.

“It’s okay, I can play with you” answered Terra “You’re safe, Raven”

“Finally” the empath said, closing the door.

“By, Rae!” yelled Beast Boy, taking her girlfriend’s hand and walking away.

“Beast Boy, why do you always go to Raven’s room if you know how annoyed she gets?” the blonde asked, confused.

“She get pissed, but I think she get happy deep down, Terra” he answered, shrugging “Nobody get that. If everyone ‘leaves her alone’ she’ll feel lonely and sad”

“You really think so?”

“I do. Look at what just happened”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right” Terra said after thinking for some time.

“You don’t mind that, do you?” he asked, insecure. His girlfriend went silent for some moments.

“No, I don’t mind” answered Terra, hugging his arm “You’re a very nice person, BB”

“Thanks” mumbled the changeling, feeling an electric chain go through his body.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ends the first part of three in this story. If you think there's too much BBxTerra and not enough BBxRae, I assure you that this will change.  
> Some mature issues will be addressed, but the fic will remain rated Teen and Up. That means these issues will be mentioned or implied, but not deepened.  
> Thank you to all who gave this story kudos and comments! I hope you continue to like the story.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Jealousy Part I

January 29th 2009, Jump City Pizza Place, 8:54 pm - Five years after Terra joined the Teen Titans

“Dude, I can’t believe that, after five years, we still have to face the same jerks we battled when we were kids” said Cyborg with his mouth full of pepperoni.

Five of the Teen Titans were sitting at a table of the pizza place they always went to, eating quickly. They had just arrived from a battle against Cinderblock, loudly talking about the fight, as always, since they were still full of adrenaline. The other clients and employees of the place were already used to it. If there was a place you could find the titans, it was there, even after five years. All of them were already in their twenties, except for Beast Boy and Terra, who were nineteen.

After so much time, the titans had some meaningful alterations. For starts, Robin had a growing outbreak and was taller than everyone except for Cyborg. His uniform looked more adult, and it was now mostly red and black, but he was still Robin. Raven was also with more mature features; her hair now fell to the middle of her back and her uniform was still a blue cloak and black leopard, although she added golden clasps on her hood and knee-high boots. Starfire let her hair go until the middle of her legs and her body became more shaped, and she traded her old top and skirt for a purple leotard open at the belly button, giving her more freedom of movements. Cyborg barely changed, since he already reached his adult height, but had more defined muscles and his armor had a modern design, but still white and blue.

Beast Boy and Terra had the most noticeable changes, since five years ago they had barely reached puberty. Terra was no longer a skinny girl, she developed breasts and hips, giving her a model body, with a slim waist and long legs. Her golden hair now fell to her waist and she wore a yellow and red uniform.

Beast Boy grew considerably, leaving the shortest member position to Raven. He also had broad shoulders and defined muscles all over his body. He wore a uniform similar to his old one, but with short sleeves, black pants and no gloves.

“I know” said the changeling, cutting a slice of his vegetarian pizza “Don’t they ever learn?”

“I think they’re too stupid for that” said Terra next to him.

“What doesn’t mean we should let our guard down” reminded Robin, looking up to the sky.

“We know, Robin” replied Cyborg, rolling his eyes “Stop staring at the sky, Star will be here in a minute”

“Her pizza is turning cold” justified the leader. His girlfriend took charge of carrying Cinderblock to jail.

“Like she can’t heat it with one of her hands…” mumbled Raven, lowering her hood “Look, there she comes”

The four titans turned to look. An orange ray shined in the sky towards them, and soon Starfire was sitting next to her boyfriend, cutting a piece of a pineapple and mustard pizza.

“Is everything okay, Star?” asked Robin. During these five years, the Boy Wonder finally asked Starfire to be his girlfriend, and after some more time, started to demonstrated his tenderness in public.

“Everything ran normally, boyfriend Robin” answered Starfire with a smile “I had no obstacles taking Cinderblock, and then I put him in his restraint area”

“Great. Good work, team” he announced at last.

“That’s about half an hour late, Robin” said Cyborg.

“Well, you all know that…” he started, looking like he was gonna give a speech.

“… The work is done after the criminal is behind bars” they all completed.

“Well, it is!” retorted the leader, frowning “But I should congratulate you all. Our team has never been better or so in sync”

“We are really great!” agreed Cyborg, finishing his pizza.

“I know!” said Terra with a smile “Can you believe that some year ago I couldn’t go to one mission without causing an earthquake?”

“That’s true, friend Terra, your skills evolved hightly” said Starfire, clapping her hands “You had a lot of trouble at first, but now you’re one of the most powerful on our team!”

“Yes, everything thanks to Raven’s training” completed Robin. Terra’s smile faded a little. She hated when people gave all of the credit to Raven. The training was over, she was handling things now.

The titans finished their meal, and Starfire, Terra, Beast Boy and Cyborg ordered desserts. After they were done, the six friends remain for some time, talking and laughing. Finally, when it was close to 11 pm, Cyborg yawned.

“Man, I think I’ll call it a night” he said, finishing his drink “Although easy to defeat, Cinderblock still punches hard”

“We’ll go too” informed Robin, his arm around Starfire, whose head was laying on his shoulder, sleepy. Raven didn’t say anything, but got up along with her friends.

“What? Already?” asked Terra, getting up “Let’s go for a ride, I wanna dance”

“Sorry, Terra, I think it’s just the two of you” replied Cyborg, taking the T Car’s keys.

“I don’t really feel like going out, Terra” whined Beast Boy, bending his head “I’m tired too”

“What do you mean, BB?” she asked, laughing “You love to go out, you always drag me to clubs and stuff”

“I think I’m getting old…” said the changeling, putting his hand on his back like an old man “So can we please stay home tonight?”

“I don’t think so” she held his hand when he tried to enter the car, right after Raven. “Come on, let’s go dance!”

“Terra, I really want to go home” he asked, grabbing the car’s door with his other hand.

“We will, after we drink and dance a little bit” said Terra, pulling his arm. The other titans were getting a little embarrassed. Both of them had already drunk at the pizza place, and Terra wanted to drink more.

“I should warn you guys, if you show up drunk at the Tower again, you’ll have combat practice every morning for one month!” said Robin, putting his head out of the window.

“Finem then we should go home, let’s go, Terra” said Beast Boy, releasing his arm and getting into the car.

“Beast Boy, I’ll go dancing, even if you’re not with me” she warned him, putting her hands on her waist.

“Okay, have fun” answered the changeling, closing the car’s door. Terra stood by the side of the car, shocked “Come on, Cyborg”

“Hmm… Are you sure, man?” asked the robot man, seeing the stare Terra was giving him.

“Okay, fine!” yelled the blonde, walking away with strong steps. Cyborg waited a few seconds, but when he realized his green friend wasn’t willing to go after his girlfriend, he started the car.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Beast Boy never thought he would be relieve for being alone. When Cyborg parked the T Car at the Tower’s garage, he was the first one out of the car and went up by himself quickly, because he didn’t want to listen to anyone scold him about leaving Terra alone, or ask if he wanted to talk, or anything. For the first time in his life, Beast Boy wanted to be left alone. He sighed, listening to the silence. Lately he hadn’t had one minute of silence. Terra was always around him, talking nonstop like… Well, like he used to do. Like he still did, but not so frequently anymore.

The changeling didn’t really understand what was happening. His life had turned into a total mess in the last few months. He wanted to talk to someone. His first option should be his girlfriend, Terra, but every time he thought about it he felt discouraged. Lately every talk he had with Terra turned into a discussion. He should talk to Cyborg, his best friend, but he wasn’t sure he would understand. Besides, Terra was always around him, so couldn’t talk to anyone.

“Hmm, I think I should do this now that she’s not here” thought Beast Boy, going to his metallic friend’s room.

“Cyborg” called Beast Boy in a low voice, opening the door just a little. Unfortunately, Cyborg was already asleep. Beast Boy closed the door, put his hand on his face and sighed. It was too late now. If he wakes up Cyborg because he wanted to _talk_ , he would probably be flung by the Tower’s window.

Suddenly he thought about someone else.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

After she got home, Raven wished her friends a good night and went to her bedroom to take a shower and change clothes. After that, she went to the kitchen to prepare a herbal tea, hoping to relax after staying so long with her friends at the pizza place. While waiting for the water to heat, Beast Boy appeared at the main doors. He wasn’t wearing his uniform, but a blue T shirt and a pair of gray sweat pants.

“Hey” he greeted her, seeming a little agitated.

“Hello” replied Raven peacefully.

“Raven?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you?”

Raven frowned. Beast Boy wanted to talk? To her? He usually just talked to her to ask her to do stupid things with him, Cyborg and Terra, or to tell her a new joke. She stopped for a minute, feeling the boy’s emotions. They were messy and negative. He probably had a problem.

“Hmm… I guess” answered Raven, shrugging.

“Thank you” said Beast Boy, sitting at the other end of the table “You know, Rae, it’s just… I think something’s happening to me and I don’t know what it is”

“I believe it’s call the puberty” said the girl solemnly.

“Well, I guess this conversation is some years late” laughed the changeling.

“Beast Boy, could you go to the point?” she asked, picking up the kettle with her powers.

“Right. So, I’ve been feeling different these last months” he started, feeling relieved “You know, I don’t feel like going out every night like before…”

“I think you made that pretty clear tonight” mumbled Raven, pouring the hot water in her blue mug.

“Dude, don’t mention it” he ran his finger through his hair “Lately I always fight with Terra over that”

“Really?” asked Raven, honestly surprised “I haven’t seen you guys mad at each other”

“That’s because we start a discussion, then she doesn’t want to listen anymore and she walks away” he told her, picking a cookie jar from a closet “Then, when we meet again and I think we’ll talk about it, she just pretends nothing happened”

“That reminds me, why are you having this conversation with me and not her?”

“Are you kidding me? She doesn’t talk. I mean, she doesn’t talk talk. Like, seriously. She says she’s not patient enough”

“Are you?”

“That’s what I’m talking about, Raven!” said Beast Boy, spreading cookie bran all over the counter “I want to have a serious conversation? I want to stay home? It doesn’t look like me, but I can’t help it… I’ve lost will of going out, talking nonsense and being in a relationship that… Well, forget it. Maybe it’s just a phase…”

He supported his head on his hands and his elbows on the counter, looking pretty miserable. Raven sighed. She never thought she would see her changeling friend acting like this.

“Beast Boy, I may have an answer” she said, blowing her tea.

“What is it?” asked the green boy, alert.

“As crazy as it sounds…” she started, sipping her tea “… I think you’re growing up”

Beast Boy remained quiet for some seconds, thinking about his friend’s words. When he was about to reply, however, the main doors opened and Terra came in. She stood there, staring at them for an instant.

“Beast Boy?” she called.

“What is it, Terra?”

“Can I have a moment?”

Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other. He gave her an apologize look and followed Terra to the hallway. Raven decided to finish her tea in there to give them a little time before going to her room.

Terra took Beast Boy to her bedroom, then she looked at him with an angry expression.

“Beast Boy, I can’t believe you left me alone to talk to _her_ ”

“Terra, I did not left you alone to talk to Raven” answered the changeling “And I don’t like your tone”

“Oh yeah? I don’t like the fact that you left me standing…”

“I told you I was too tired!” he lost his patience “Can’t we, for once, do what I want to do? Just once!”

“What are you talking about? We always do what you want”

“No, we always do what you want, and you think that’s what I want too, because you only listen to what you want”

“That’s so not true. And I’m getting tired of all the attention you give to Raven. I’m you girlfriend, not her!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Beast Boy “I talk to Raven just like I talk to any of our other friends”

“Really? Are you always going to their rooms to invite them to everything we’re going to do?”

“Oh yeah Terra, remember when we were going on that date and I invited Raven to join us?” asked Beast Boy sarcastically.

“That’s enough Beast Boy, I don’t want to listen” said Terra, putting her hands over her ears.

“Just like every discussion” he said, throwing his arms in the air and walking away “You run away and we’re back to square one”

“Oh, really?” yelled the blonde, offended “So let’s decide something about this discussion right now!”

Beast Boy stopped without turning to her.

“What is it?”

“I don’t want you to see Raven again”

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – The Fight

Raven finished her tea, washed her mug and left it upside down at the sink. She imagined Beast Boy and Terra should be in better terms already, and went to her bedroom. No matter what Beast Boy had said, she couldn’t see those two breaking apart. He must had exaggerated when he said he had a lot of discussions with the blonde lately. They were… perfect for each other.

Going near the hallway that led to Terra’s room, however, she sensed a lot of negative and messy emotions coming from there. And it didn’t take long for some yelling come from there too. The first ones were Beast Boy’s. She knew she shouldn’t be listening; she should keep walking and let the couple work his problems out. But she couldn’t move. She was shocked. Beast Boy was right. Both of them were really mad at each other, she could feel. Was it just because Beast Boy didn’t want to go out with Terra? She could feel a unique emotion coming from Terra, but she couldn’t figure out which was.

“Oh, really?” yelled Terra “So let’s decide something about this discussion right now!”

A moment of silence. Raven couldn’t understand why she was so curious, this wasn’t her business, she should go away. But her body only bent a little, disobeying her, so she could hear well. Beast Boy muttered  something.

“I don’t want you to see Raven again”

Raven was released of her petrified state with the new shock. They were fighting… because of her? The empath cover her mouth with her hands and ran to her room, her heart racing. She went inside and closed the door quickly, leaning herself on the wall. She tried to calm her mind, but Terra’s words kept coming back in her head. She put her hands on her ears, but it didn’t work. She could still feel the disturbed emotions of her friends. All because of her. She couldn’t think straight, and her bookcase started shaking causing some books to fall down.

Raven could not let this happen. So she went to the only place where her powers could not harm anyone. Nevermore.

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“What?” asked Beast Boy after some quiet seconds “What the hell are you talking about? What Raven has to do with anything?”

“Why don’t you tell me, since you’re such good friend with her?” asked Terra back, her voice still loud.

Beast Boy laughed without humor and gave his girlfriend an incredulous look.

“Really Terra?” he lowered his voice and try to calm down “Of all people, you’re jealous of Raven?”

“I am not jealous” she also lowered her voice.

“Then why are you making this ridiculous demand?” asked the changeling, holding her shoulders.

“Because… You spend too much time with her” mumbled Terra looking down and pouting “And now you don’t have time to take me out”

Beast Boy sighed.

“We’ve talked about this, Terra” he said, releasing her and putting his hands on his eyes, like he had a headache “I don’t feel like going out. I mean, not every night, like we used to. And I wanted our relationship to grow, you know. It feels like nothing changed ever since we were fifteen”

“What do you want to change?” she asked confused “We were great at fifteen”

“Yeah, but we’re almost twenty now… Don’t you think we should have evolved a little?”

“I really don’t think that. We’re fine, it’s a perfect relationship. We have fun, and there’re no stupid charges…”

“I don’t know Terra” he muttered, sitting at the end of the bed “I can’t really see us married, you know? Every time I try, it feels wrong, since we’re so childlike”

“What? Who’s talking about marriage?” said Terra with an unpleasant expression “You really want us to go old out of time”

Beast Boy didn’t answered, looking out of the window. He knew she wouldn’t understand.

“Let’s just drop this, okay?” she purred, hugging him from behind “Just do as I told you”

“Are you still talking about that Raven thing?”

“Yes. You know, you don’t have to really stop talking to her, I just think it’s enough of those private visits you do to her all the afternoon” explained Terra, sounding reasonable “She didn’t even appreciates it. She always send you away and insults you. I don’t want to see you suffering for someone that’s not worthy”

Beast Boy unleashed himself from her embrace, getting up.

“Terra, how could you say that? Of course she’s worthy, she’s our friend and teammate. I’ve explained you this, she’s gonna suffer if we all left her behind. Everyone in the Tower is already busy with all the relationships and stuff”

“That’s enough, Beast Boy, I’m sick of listening to this” the blonde lay on the bed “She pushes everyone away, she says she wants to be alone, if she wants to suffer, that’s just her problem!”

Terra stared at Beast Boy’s shocked expression, like he had just seen a side of his girlfriend he didn’t know yet. Or wanted to pretend he didn’t know. Selfishness.

“Is that so, Terra? I’d like to know what would have happen if, when you went to Raven to ask help with your powers, she had said to you what you just said about her”

With these words, he walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving Terra alone with her thoughts.

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Raven was sitting at a floating rock, in the middle of nowhere. The sky was black and there were other rocks floating around her, some with old trees and crows on them. She was finally calming herself. She didn’t want to see any of her emotions, they realize her disturbance and went to their kingdoms.

Raven couldn’t understand why she got so disturbed with what she had listened. Thinking rationally, it wasn’t hard to solve what happened. Terra was already pissed with Beast Boy, and had a jealousy crisis, demanding him to stop seeing her. But why did it bother her so much?

Maybe because… She knew that Beast Boy was going to do what his girlfriend asked him to. He did everything she wanted. Still, it didn’t matter to her, right? She wouldn’t lose her friend. He probably would just stop bothering her every afternoon. If you think about it, it was a good thing for her. She could meditate without interruption. She could read all afternoon.

No more impatient knocks on the door.

No more boring jokes every afternoon.

No more insistent invitations to do things she didn’t like.

No more warm smiles.

No more feeling like someone cared about her.

No more… Beast Boy.

She couldn’t stop the tears from falling down her face. Suddenly, she knew that Happiness’s kingdom would be locked. Again. The first time was when Slade showed up to tell her the End was coming. It only opened up after she defeated Trigon and the world went back to normal.

Now it would be locked up again with time, with her loneliness and she would not be able to communicate with the emotion. She didn’t understand. She never realized Beast Boy’s presence was so… important to her. But he was Terra’s first. And she could never expect him to go against Terra, the love of his life, only for a friend that treated him coldly. She wished to give the changeling his true importance. And into the depths of Rage’s kingdom, she selfishly wished Terra didn’t exist. Raven wiped her tears and recomposed herself, feeling like a horrible person.

“I’ll not suffer over this anymore” she said out loud, the words echoing “Beast Boy is not important. Terra’s right, she must be, and I shouldn’t be angry at her because of that, it would be selfish. Beast Boy is not important, Beast Boy is not important, Beast Boy is not important, Beast Boy is not important, Beast Boy is not important!

She stopped, taking a deep breath. She would not care about this anymore.

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	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – The Solution

“Hey BB!” greeted Cyborg the next morning, when Beast Boy entered the common room, looking like he had no sleep at all, although it was already late.

“Hi…” he muttered, getting a cart of soy milk in the fridge and drinking it directly.

“I would say that doing this is gross, but soy milk is already gross and you’re the only one who drinks it anyway…” commented him, finishing his eggs and bacon. “Did you make up with Terra yesterday?”

“Not only I didn’t, but she demanded I don’t talk to Raven anymore, can you believe it?” he sighed, sitting at the table across his friend, who stopped dead on his way to the sink to wash the dishes.

“What?!” He yelled, sitting down again. “Why, is she jealous or something?”

“Apparently, I ‘talk and chase her too much and she doesn’t even deserve it’” he told, rolling his eyes.

“Gezz, I didn’t know Terra was such a controlling woman…” Cyborg said thoughtfully. “If you don’t resolve this now, next thing you know you can’t talk to Star either or even look directly to a girl”

“I don’t really know what to do…” he sighed, watching his friend getting up and washing the dishes.

“Well, if I were you…” started Cyborg, but stopped when the doors opened and the blonde came in. “H-hi, Terra”

“Morning Cyborg” she greeted him, looking extremely happy. “Beast Boy, can I talk to you?”

“Oh, don’t get up!” said Cyborg drying his hands. “I’m off to take care of my baby anyway” and with that, he left them alone.

“So BB” started Terra, sitting across him. “We need to talk about yesterday”

“You sure look excited about it” he groaned, annoyed that she was in such a good mood.

“Well, I just want to… apologize” she said very calmly. Beast Boy lifted his look, surprised.

“Really?”

“Yes. It was stupid to involve Raven in this, so you’re not forbidden to see her anymore” she settled. “Aand I felt really bad for saying bad stuff about her, and I realized I never really did anything to thank her for helping me”

“Oh, you’re gonna buy her something?”

“No, better, I thought we may double date!”

Beast Boy blinked.

“Double date with whom?”

“With Raven!”

“With Raven and whom?”

“A guy I settle up with her!”

“Guy? What guy?”

“Just this guy I met yesterday at a night club and I think he would be perfect for her!” she told him excited. “What are you laughing about?”

“It was cute you thought about all this, Terra, but you know Raven will never go for it, right?” he asked, holding her hands and laughing like she just said she wanted to find a flying unicorn.

Terra smirked.

“She already said yes, silly” this wiped the smile off the changeling’s face.

“What?”

“I went to her room this morning, explained everything about the fight, and asked her!” she explained, tightening his hands. “And she said yes!”

“And you told her about the guy?”

“Yeah”

“And she didn’t freak out?”

“No”

“Are you sure it was really Raven?” he asked, suspicious, at what his girlfriend just laughed and rolled her eyes.

“It is today, at eight. Be ready on time” she warned and kissed him.

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	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – The Date

It was 7:50 and Raven had just finished getting ready. Of course she wasn’t expecting anything from this date. She just accepted to try harder to hide the fact she had fall for Beast Boy. Going with them would make Terra satisfied, and she at least wasn’t going to forbid them from being friends. She picked up her purse and went to find the couple.

Entering the common room she saw Starfire, Robin and Beast Boy sitting on the couch watching some show about fungus probably chosen by the Tamareanean. Cyborg was at the kitchen making a sandwich and was the first one to notice her. He whistled, making everyone turn.

“Look at Raven, all dressed up for her date!” he teased her, using a fake girly voice, at which she just rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Oh, friend Raven, you look adorable!” said Starfire, flying toward her and looking all over her.

“Don’t overreact, I’m not _that_ different!” argued Raven, not liking all that attention. In fact, she wasn’t: she was wearing a simple dark top, white jeans, blue shoes and a long blue jacket that remind her coat very much. Her hair was just as usual and her purse was leather black.

“It’s just funny when we see each other on normal clothes, Raven, don’t mind them” said Robin, who had taken the opportunity to change the channel to the news. “Remember when Starfire went out with me and chose civil clothes?”

“God, I hope I’m not looking like that…” she commented, since Starfire had chosen a very unlikely set of clothes, such as a flowered top with a yellow skirt and a pink big hat. She turned and saw Beast Boy looking at her, mouth opened. “So where’s Terra?”

“Ahn...” He took a minute to clear his mind. “She said she’s gonna meet us there, with the… well… your date.”

“So shall we go?”

“Yes, of course. Cyborg is lending us the T-Car” he got up and walked to the elevator.

“Yeah, but just because it is a mainly event that Raven agreed with going on a blind date, so take good care of him!” warned Cyborg “Or else you are gonna be blind!”

“Okay…” he waved, not turning back. Raven said goodbye to everyone before following him inside.

As the elevator lowered, an awkward silence fell between the two of them.

“You look nice” he said in a breathe. She was a little surprised by his comment.

“Thank you. You look nice too.” She replied. He was indeed, in a black and purple shirt, blue jeans and black shoes, his hair proposal messy. They were so carefully and shy it even look like it was their date. Realizing this, Beast Boy decided to lead a conversation about anything.

“So… ahn…” he was about to talk a random subject, but decided to ask what he really wanted to. “Raven, why did you agreed with this? It’s absolutely not your kind of thing, is it?”

“It isn’t” she admitted while he started the car and the gate wide open. “But I just decided to give it a chance, since Terra was so nice to me.”

“She was?” He asked, relieved his girlfriend didn’t gave a freak attack like he feared.

“Yes, and she said we can talk again, which let me a little disappointed, you know, there I was, thinking I was finally getting some peace…” she said calmly.

“Hey!” he protested, fake insulted, and the tension between them seemed to melt.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“Terra said she picked a neutral place, so we’re going to a bar down town…” he told her, afraid she was going to tell him that was it and go home.

“That sounds nice” she replied however, looking distractedly through the window.

“Okay, who are you and what did you do with Raven?” he asked, disbelieved that his empath friend was taking all this so casually. She just gave him a bored look and focused on the passing landscape.

Soon enough they arrived, and found Terra, looking beautiful in a light blue tank top that showed a little of her belly, a black miniskirt and brown boots. Next to her was a tall, pale man with dark hair and eyes. Raven gasped as she recognized him.

“Stan!” she said, surprised.

“Eh? You guys already know each other?” asked Terra, after giving Beast Boy a kiss and hearing Raven.

“Yes… we met at a night club a few years ago” explained Raven, looking at him.

“Oh, I remember that!” said Beast Boy, since the only one time Raven went to a night club was because of Starfire’s sister, Blackfire.

“Yes, I passed my life sucks phase” he explained, although he still looked pretty depressing for Beast Boy. “I am now of a philosophy that life is all about suffering for your next stage, a necessary evil…”

Beast Boy looked puzzled at Terra, not believing that she would pick such a guy to go out with their friend, but she was smiling, and to his surprised, Raven replied:

“An interesting theory. In many of my books…” then she started talking a lot of difficult words about people he never heard of before. But the Stan guy apparently was catching up easily and answering with even bigger words.

“See? Aren’t they perfect for each other?” whispered Terra, while the two of them went ahead for the table.

“Uh, I guess… The sure have a lot of knowledge in common…” he whispered back, still feeling weird.

The night went on perfectly nice, they ate, talk and Terra and Beast Boy danced a little like she wanted, although the changeling couldn’t help keeping an eye on his empath friend and her weird date. After they called it a night, he went home on a motorcycle and the three Titans come back on the T-Car.

“So did you like him, Raven?” asked Terra, excited.

“It was good talking to him” she said from the back seat, leaning her head on the glass of the window, looking tired. Beast Boy noticed she didn’t answered the question directly.

They drove silently from now on, since he too was too tired, his eyes almost closing, until finally getting home.

“Thank you for taking me” said Raven to them. “I’m going to bed now.”

“You’re welcome, Raven! Good night!” yelled Terra.

“Good night” replied Beast Boy, going down the hallway with the blonde.

“I think everything ran pretty well, don’t you?” she said happily as they got to her room.

“I didn’t really like the guy you chose for Raven” he answered, sitting on the couch and taking off his shoes.

“What? They’re perfect for each other! They even met before!”

“No, I don’t think they are…” he frowned, leaning against the couch. “Raven already has a tendency for sadness and depressing. She should go out with a happy guy, a guy who can show her the good side of life, not the bad, the bad she already knows…”

“So, you mean she should date a guy like you?” Terra asked, crossing her arms.

“No, that’s not what I said…” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“So?” she lifted her eyebrows. When he tried to explain better, he realized that was indeed what he had said. To his surprise, instead of getting mad, Terra laughed.

“What?!”

“You look just like a little brother getting jealous of his big sister’s boyfriend!” she pointed out, and he felt annoyed.

“I do not!”

“You do too! You just want a cool guy to have fun with”

“I just want what’s best for my friend!”

“Fine, BB. But she wasn’t complaining, you know.”

That was true. Why _wasn’t_ Raven complaining?

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	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Jealousy Part II

Some days had passed since the Double date, and Beast Boy hadn’t had any more problems with Terra. He was relieved for the peace, but when he was alone, something tickled inside his chest, he didn’t really know why.

That was one of the reasons he was playing video games nonstop with Cyborg since pretty much last night. His cybernetic friend had downloaded a very difficult game and they were trying to masterpiece it, with little results. The story version was way too difficult, even for two players, and when they got sick of losing, they just changed temporally to versus, in which at least they could trained and suck against another one who sucks as well.

Robin entered the common room and realized that nothing had changed since he had left last night. The boxes of pizza were still on the table, couch and ground, Silkie was still napping on the kitchen balcony, and Beast Boy and Cyborg were still playing the same video game.

“Have you guys not slept at all?” he asked, walking to their friends and standing on the side of the couch, frowning. Neither of them even looked at him.

“No need… Sleep…” murmured Cyborg. “Have the reserve… Battery…”

“Have to… Complete… Quest…” said Beast Boy, in the same robotic voice, dark circles under his eyes.

“If we have a mission today and you two can’t handle, I swear I’m gonna ban video games out of the Tower completely!” he threatened.

“Hmm…” groaned his two teammates, eyes never leaving the screen. Robin buffed and walked to the kitchen, picking up some pizza boxes on the way.

“Good morning friends!” said another voice when Starfire entered the common room as well, her smile suddenly disappearing at the sight of the two. “Have you played all night long?”

They let out another groan.

“It’s like they’re in a trance, Robin!” she muttered in a worried voice.

“Don’t worry, Star, I’ll be able to take them out of it soon” guaranteed Robin, preparing a pan, eyes and bacon. “Well… Cyborg, at least.”

The common room’s doors opened up once more, and a beautiful blonde came in, yawning.

“Good morning, friend Terra!”

“Morning, Star, everybody…” she answered, going to the couch and sitting next to her boyfriend. “BB, why didn’t you come to bed?”

“Because you keep kicking me and it gave me a back ache” he answered, still on his emotionless voice.

“Oh… Sorry” she muttered, spilling her tongue.

“Is that eggs?” asked Cyborg suddenly, a little emotion coming back to his voice, and his eyes looking quickly to the kitchen. Robin gave a smirk and blinked to Starfire, who clapped her hands, happy.

“Dude, focus, we’re almost at the crystal lake to take the enchanted frog, and the last save point was on the green houses, so if we die, we’ll have to make all that again” warned Beast Boy, and Cyborg was sucked inside the game again.

“Oh, can I watch? I have never seen an enchanted frog before!” asked Starfire, flying and sitting next to Cyborg. “Oh, how beautiful images!”

“Star, don’t!” pleaded Robin, seeing as her eyes became a little in trance as well.

“She at our side now” murmured Beast Boy, still looking at the screen.

“Are you sure you are ok? You’re not blinking…” Terra questioned, examining the green guy’s face with a little concern.

“Hm…”

The common room’s doors opened up and the last teammate entered. No one on the couch turned to look.

“Good morning” said Raven. A mumble of mixed voices came from the couch, and she frowned for a little, going to the kitchen to prepare herself a tea.

“Morning” said Robin, looking upset, eating fried eggs and bacon and reading the paper.

“What’s going on with them?” she asked, filling the kettle with water.

“Hypnotized by a game…” He told her sighing. “Damn these new High Definition graphics…”

“I see… Well, it’s well made, you have to give it that” she said, examining after putting the kettle in the fire.

“Not you too, pl…” Robin lifted his look from the newspaper, suddenly stopping himself at the sight of Raven. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Like what?” she questioned, looking down. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s civil clothes! You going anywhere?”

“Well… Yes, as a matter of fact, I am”

Starfire broke out of the game trance, her ear growing to the talk’s conversation. She flied to the kitchen.

“Where, friend Raven? Is it to the mall? Because in that case, I’ll more than pleased to accompany you!” she looked really excited by the idea.

“Uh, no Star, I’m going somewhere else” she told the Tamareanen, avoiding anyone’s eyes.

“Is it on the way to the mall?” insisted Starfire. “Because, if it is, I’ll be happy to accompany you until your stop, and then, after you’re finished, we could go to the mall, maybe with friend Terra.”

Terra broke out of the trance as well, listening to her name.

“I think it might be good, I need to buy new clothes” she agreed, walking to the table and helping herself with some eggs and bacon.

“No, girls… Actually, I… I already have company” she muttered at the same time her kettle whistled, but the words made their way to some changeling’s ears anyway.

“What?” the Green changeling asked suddenly, his eyes clearing. He had an expression of someone who had no idea where he was or what was doing.

“You mean you have a date?” questioned Cyborg, also getting his eyes out of the TV.

“I am just meeting a friend somewhere, that doesn’t mean it’s a date” she said between teeth, pouring the hot water on the mug with the herbal leaves.

“Then how come you are all dressed up?” asked Terra with a smirk.

“I am not!” she shouted, walking back to the doors.

“And how do you explain the blush?” cornered her Cyborg, since she had a thin layer of blush on her cheeks.

“… Because a pimp appeared on my face today, okay, leave me alone!” and with that she disappeared behind the doors.

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“Beast Boy?”

“Huh?”

“Are you worried about something? You’re pretty much sucking!”

“Ahn…” he paused the game and closed his eyes for a second. “I guess I’m just tired…”

“Yeah, so am I!” Cyborg got up and stretched his arms. “Maybe we should take a break…”

He turned off the video game but Beast Boy kept looking at the black screen.

“Are you sure there’s nothing more on your mind?”

“It’s just… I don’t really like that guy Raven went out with…”

“Wasn’t it Terra who picked him up?”

“Yeah… But I didn’t like him” he confessed, frowning. “I just don’t want this to end up like Malchior…”

“Dude, Raven knows where she gets into since that guy!” he assured, picking up a forgotten box of pizza and eating a cold slice.

“I guess so”

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	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – The Party

“Oh, I cannot wait to the our super party!” Starfire said from the ceiling of the common room, where she was hanging decorations.

“I can’t believe you guys convinced Robin to accept this” commented Raven, holding a book at the same time some other decorations hanged themselves, covered by a black aura.

“You can get all with perseveration, good work and…” started Cyborg from the kitchen, where he was making a lot of sandwiches.

“And three months of ‘can we have a party Robin’ ‘can we have a party Robin’, ‘can we have a Robin’ every single day” completed their leader, just entering the room with some plastic cups.

“Well, it worked, right, Cy?” Beast Boy scratched the back of his head, looking at his friend with an awkward smile, stopping the job of filling balloons.

“Come on, what can go wrong?” asked Terra with a wide smile, at the computer.

“Better don’t say that, girl…” warned Cyborg.

“Cool, the East Titans confirmed!” she informed.

“Whoohoo, I’m gonna put up the disco globe!” he celebrated, leaving the food and running outside of the room. Robin followed him with his eyes, a down look on his face.

“Come on Robin, at least if some villain appear, we get lots of heroes to fight!” argued Beast Boy, with a thin voice, since he had inhaled the helium of the balloons.

“Ahahaha, your voice is so funny, friend Beast Boy!” Starfire giggled, clapping her hands.

“Thank you, thank you!” he said, bowing to the girls like they were an audience. Starfire and Terra laughed, but Raven just rolled her eyes and went back to her book.

“Oh, yeah, Raven, Stan confirmed too!” Terra said, checking the computer again.

“Wha…? Is that guy coming to the party?” asked Beast Boy, a balloon empting in his hand.

“Is there a problem?” questioned Raven, lifting her look from the book.

“…No, it’s just that he might feel out of place, you know…” the changeling responded, scratching the back of his head.

“Then there’s gonna be two of us” retorted Raven.

Beast Boy opened his mouth to argue, but in that moment Cyborg came in holding a big dance globe and demanded everyone to help him hang it.

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“Hey, I gotta admit, Sparky, you made a very good work here” said Bumble Bee, a cup on her hand, looking around.

The common room was in the dark, with a lot of colored lights blinking and spinning around from the globe. Music filled the room, but not so loud that they couldn’t talk to each other. The middle area had been turned into a dance floor; there was a lot of food on the kitchen counter and chairs all around.

“Why don’t you tell me something I don’t know!” he said proudly, hands full of sandwiches.

“So, after you eat…” she started, hoping to get a chance to dance with her cybernetic friend. But out of nowhere came two little boys and interrupted her.

“Mister Cyborg!” yelled Más, who was in top of his brother, holding a little box. “We cannot believe you have Space Monkeys IV!”

“Vamos jogar! Let’s go play!” asked Menos, jumping in the place.

“You got it!” agreed Cyborg, leaving Bumble Bee in the place, quite disappointed.

“Men…” she sighed, turning around. Then she saw Starfire and Kole talking, sat on some of the chairs, and walked to them. “Yo, girls, what’s up!”

“Bumble Bee friend, I’m so glad you joined us!” greeted her Starfire, as she sat in on chair next to them. “We are doing the talking of the boys”

“Ah… not necessarily” added Kole, a little embarrassed.

“Don’t get me started on boys…” she sighed, looking annoyed to the robot guy playing video games enthusiastically. “How’re you and Robin doing?”

“He has asked me to be his friend who is a girl” she told them excited.

“Beast Boy is still dating Terra, right?” Kole asked, looking to the dance floor, where they were dancing exuberantly, people getting distance from them.

“Yes, although they have been fighting a lot” she answered, her smile fading away. “Oh, wait. I believe that’s one of the things Robin asked me not to tell anyone! Please, forget what I just said!”

Bumble Bee and Kole looked at each other, puzzled. To Starfire’s luck, in that moment the doors opened and Raven came in accompanied by a tall, dark haired and kind of attractive man, catching their attention.

“Who’s that?” asked Kole, following them with her eyes.

“Oh, that’s Raven’s boyfriend, like Cyborg calls him, but she says they’re not there yet” she informed, happy the subject had changed.

“Wow, not bad, Raven!” commented Bumble Bee.

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February 13th 2009, 9:50 pm

“Your friends are really conformed…”

“I suppose they are” Raven shrugged. She and Stan were walking around the hallway, since she wanted to get away from the loud music playing in the common room. Apparently, dancing and laughing out loud were conformism signs for him “I like to come in here to meditate. It’s quiet and I have a good view of the ocean and the city, whenever it’s too cold to go to the balcony”

“It would be a good place to read poesy and think about the meaningless of life” he agreed “But at night; the sun hurts my spirit”

Raven sighed, staring at the thousands dots of light across the dark stain of the ocean at night. Suddenly she felt cold fingers embracing her owns. When she turned, she was surprise to see Stan’s face coming closer to her.

“Hmm… What are you doing?” asked Raven, with her back pressed against the glass and feeling the gothic’s cold and sticky lips on her cheek, since she had turned her face away right before they meet their true target.

“Trying one of the few interaction forms I appreciate with a girl like you” answered Stan, stepping back, but not so much, making her remain leaned on the glass to avoid touching him “You understand our body’s fragility just as I do. We have no choice but to follow our instincts”

“…” Raven was truly surprised. She kept going out with Stan because she thought he would never had will or courage to try to do this. Besides, that was about the worst justification for a guy trying to get laid.

“Stan…”

“Yes?” he slid his fingers through her arm, making her shiver. Not in a good way.

“I think you should go now” she finished without emotion, covering his mouth with a dark energy band and taking him to the main doors.

“Well… I guess…” he muttered when she pushed him out unceremonious and the band disappeared “I’ll see you at the Coffee place or…”

“Bye” she said, closing the door at his face.

‘How unpleasant…’ she thought, running her hands through her face while she pushed the button to the elevator. She could teleport to her room, but the incident had lightly disestablished her emotional balance, so it was safer to walk. The elevator’s door opened and she got in, pushing the bottom to go up.

The empath closed her eyes and leaned on the cold wall, trying to determine what exactly she was feeling. She didn’t really liked Stan, he was only a person she could talk to about interests she didn’t share with anyone else, so she wasn’t sad or disappointed. But it was a contact she normally didn’t allow, so she was a little tense, like a bad flavor on her mouth. The highest the elevator went up, the more she felt her emotions being suppressed by everyone else’s at the common room. That’s why she didn’t like emotions. It was hard to deal with so many different feelings at once.

Since her bedroom was at the upper floor of the common room, she decided to let the elevator go to the top: the balcony. She would feel free at open air and she could meditate a little before going to sleep with all those emotions breaking into her chest and mind.

When the door opened, she felt the pleasant cold air on her face and relieve for all the party’s emotions departure – like she had took off headphones playing really loud music. She was so relieved she took some time to realize the emotions coming from another two people at the balcony with her.

It was dark, so she only noticed the couple there when she captured some movement with the corner of her eye. A golden stain.

“Terra?” she called, the she noticed arms around the blonde’s body, and blushed “Oh, I’m sorry…”

However, when Terra turned to her, Raven had a clear vision of the one that embraced her – and found a normal face. Not green. A blushed face framed with smooth dark hair.

“Raven?” asked Terra, a horror expression taking her beautiful traces.

“Who… Who’s that?” Raven didn’t have time to realize how indiscrete she was being, because she was shocked. Terra was kissing a man that wasn’t Beast Boy.

“Well… Uh…”

“I think I better go now” said the young man, noticing the tension in the air and walking quickly to the elevator, leaving the girls alone with each other.

“What do you… Did you and Beast Boy break up?” asked Raven after some minutes of silence.

“Well… No…”

“Then you…”

“Raven, please don’t tell him about this!” begged Terra, holding Raven by her shoulders “Please… I just… It was a mistake, I was… I’m really drunk!”

Raven didn’t answer, staring at those wet blue eyes and looking for a sign of sincerity. All she could see, however, was… Fear. Fear of being caught.

She lowered her teammate’s hands and waited until their breathes normalized. All she wanted to ask was…

“Why?”

“I don’t know!” she whined “We fought and he said some stuff… I drank too much and I just don’t know… Are you going to tell him?”

“I… I think you should, Terra”

“I should what?”

“You should tell Beast Boy” whispered Raven “If you guys are so troubled, you need to work it out. And he… he deserves to know”

“But I…”

The elevator’s door opened suddenly. Both of the girls jumped like they were wanted criminals.

“Hey girls, there you are!” yelled a strong voice, and they relaxed. It was just Cyborg. However, right next to him…

“Come on guys, it’s time for the best part!” a green head with a big smile appeared, making them paralyzed again.

“What’s with those faces?”

“It’s nothing!” answered Terra, joining hands “What are you guys up to now?”

“It’s time for my super special piñata!” told Cyborg, looking really excited “What’s inside is a surprise…”

“It really is super, I couldn’t even break it with tiger’s claws” said Beast Boy, taking the girl’s expressions as unbelievable.

“It sound like fun!” said Terra, and Raven got surprised of how well she could fake it.

Suddenly, all of them heard a buzz and the volleyball network at the sports court was covered by black energy and curled itself in a ball, like someone was molding it with gigantic hands.

“I need to meditate a little” explained Raven, and that wasn’t a lie “The conglomerate of people is making my emotional balance hard…”

“Oh, okay… Can we start without you?” asked Cyborg.

“Please, do” she rolled her eyes, and the robot man opened a big smile and turned back to the elevator, followed by Terra. Beast Boy, on the other hand, kept staring at her. Raven really wanted him to go away.

“Is it really that difficult to you, Rae?” he asked, putting his hand on his chin “We’ve been all together before and you were fine”

“I was more prepared, and it didn’t last as long as today” she answered, not looking in his eyes. The changeling sighed and looked around.

“I don’t know… Are you sure nothing happen to upset you?” he questioned, and she felt her heart racing “Hey! Where’s your vampire boyfriend by the way?”

Raven thanked Azar for the convenient excuse. She had totally forgotten about him.

“I sent him away”

“Why?” he frowned and came closer.

“He… Well, he tried to some stuff I didn’t want, so…” she suddenly felt a hot gush of anger coming out of her friend, and lifted her gaze, surprised.

“He did what?” yelled Beast Boy, with fire in his eyes “I can’t believe this, why didn’t you call me? You know, I should go after him, tell me where he lives, I’m gonna…”

“Stop” asked Raven, putting her hand on his shoulder, and he calmed a little “I know how to take care of myself. Nothing happened, and if it did, I would sent him to another dimension myself”

“You’re right… It’s just…” Beast Boy groaned, still angry “I knew he was no good for you, Rae!”

Raven blinked, even more surprise by this piece of information. Then he hugged without warning.

“You deserve better, Raven” said Beast Boy with confidence “I’m sorry I let this go so far. You need someone who treasures life and can show you all the good things out there… Or, at least, someone who’s completely happy for being alive and being with you!”

Raven felt her eyes water, then she got annoyed with the fact.

“You mean someone like…” she thought ‘like you’, but said: “Starfire?”

Beast Boy laughed and let her go.

“Because I don’t think Robin would appreciate that” she seized the moment to lift her cloak and let the wind dry her tears.

“I think you…” before Beast Boy could finish, however, a strong yell ‘PIÑATA TIME!” came from below, and he put his hands on his head.

“Oh, no, I’m missing out!”

“Go” said Raven.

“You’re gonna be okay?”

Raven nodded with a smile and Beast Boy walked to the elevator. She sighed of finally being alone. Staring at the ground, she wondered how Terra could cheat on a sweet guy like Beast Boy.

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	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – The Snow Garden

Raven sat on the bed and turned on the lamp on her nightstand. The clock’s hands next to it showed that it was nine minutes past three o’clock in the morning. That was about one hour after she had laid down intending to sleep. She passed her hands through her eyes, tired of rolling on the bed and seeing things every time she closed her eyes. She could feel most guests had fallen asleep. Unlikely a normal situation, that made her feel worst. Until like half an hour ago, she could feel all those people’s emotions and, for the first time in her life, they were welcome. Because her own emotions were a total mess. Meditate – better saying, sit down and try not to think about _that_ – didn’t help, and now, neither sleep.

Raven sighed and opened the drawer of the nightstand, picking up a hand mirror. Since she couldn’t understand, what to say about controlling her emotions, she would have to talk to them. She closed her eyes as a shining band wrapped her and took her to the interior of her mind. To Nevermore.

When she opened her eyes, she was kneeling on a lawn. The sky above her was black and starless, and other earth pieces floated around her. She touched the ground with her hand to make an impulse to get up, but she stopped.

‘Gray grass?’ she thought, running her fingers through the grayish leaves ‘I intended to talk to Wisdom…”

Grayish vegetation was common at Timidity’s design place of her mind, but Raven had directed her trip to the always autumnal forest of Wisdom. Could she have taken the wrong path? She had barely thought of it, and a voice called her attention.

“You’re not wrong” she turned, finding herself in a brown cloak.

“Wisdom…” said Raven, getting up and going to the emotion’s direction “Are you okay?”

Her clone wasn’t at her usual aspect, calm and rested. She had circles under her eyes, her hair was messy and she looked pissed off.

“No, I’m not okay” she informed, walking past Raven quickly among the trees “Look at what she’s doing to my beautiful forest!”

Raven blinked, looking around. Just like the grass, the tree’s thick trunks were grayish and peeling. Their foliage, normally red and gold, was blackened and falling, leaving several portions of the trees bold. The crows were flying around, yelling, like unsatisfied.

“But… But who did this?” asked Raven, concerned.

“Who do you think? Timidity, of course! She’s doing that to everyone!” sighed Wisdom, frustrated.

“I didn’t know things were that serious…” mumbled Raven “I came here for…”

“Advise, I know” the emotion completed, covering her head with the brown hood “Well, forget it. I can’t help you right now”

“But I…”

“I know! Look, I’m trying to find an answer to your dilemma since… That happened” she informed, picking up a nest from the ground and putting it on its branch carefully “But I can’t concentrate enough with her talking nonstop!”

“Talking…” Raven realized the crow’s yelling wasn’t the only noise. A moan was being spread all around, she could hear her own voice, but not discern any word “I’m going to talk with her”

“Please” was all she got as a reply before her feet leave the ground and she float towards the voice’s source.

 On her way, she understood what Wisdom had meant when she said Timidity was affecting everyone. Happiness’s pink plains was gray and lifeless, the greenish lake next to Bravery’s training spot was as black as the sky and even Laziness’s gold and orange savanna was gray and cold.

She landed at the entrance of Timidity’s swamp and walked in carefully. It looked dangerous, like at every step she took it’d be waiting to drag her down, and resident crows had hostile looks. Soon, however, she identify the gray cloak covering someone in the middle of the path.

“Timidity” she called, walking to her and leaving all the caution she had been taking so far.

Her grayish clone, however, was walking in circles and didn’t seem to listen to her.

“I have to tell… But no, she made me promise… Well, not exactly, but if she’s trusting me…”

“Timidity” called Raven again, when suddenly her progress was stopped by a vine wrapped around her right arm.

“He has the right to know, doesn’t he? Is she really going to tell him?”

“Let me go!” said Raven, but the vine was firmly fixed to her wrist. Trying to release it, she accidentally stepped on a mud pool.

“If I tell him, he’s going to… He’s going to hate me! He’ll say I’m making this up!”

“Timidity! Help me!” asked Raven, now using the vine to try release her left foot, but the more the pulled, more stuck it seemed to be.

“Even if he believes me, he’ll hate me, he’ll say I’m meddling!”

“Ti…” started Raven, but stopped when her right foot also bogged on a mud pool.

“But if I don’t tell and he finds out later… He’ll think I betrayed him, that I don’t care or…”

“Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!” from Timidity’s right side come an explosion, startling her, and she finally turned to the cloud of smoke, from where stepped out a Raven in pajamas.

“Oh, Raven! You’re here!” she said, coming from behind a tree.

“Finally, Timidity!” said Raven, annoyed “What the hell is happening? Why is your kingdom invading the other’s ones?”

“Is it?” she asked, distracted, with her usual pose: curved, a sad expression on her face, the hands at a protection position “I didn’t know… I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Tell or not tell…”

“You… Are you putting all your efforts only on that?” asked the empath, feeling sad. Her emotion turned to her, thick tears sliding down her face.

“What are we going to do? All paths seem to lead to a horrible thing…”

“Well… Try to calm down” she asked, and they both breathed “Maybe… Maybe it’s just not of our business…”

The moment those words left her mouth, Timidity seemed hurt and took a step back; at the same time Raven realized there was no truth in what she said.

“No… I didn’t mean… Of course, he is our friend, but…”

“Affection wants to talk to you. It’s… Urgent” she informed with a thin voice. The trees and vines slowly closed the path to the gray emotion, and she became unaware of her presence once again.

Raven watched the emotion coming back to her indecision state and floated away, going to Affection’s part of her mind. She was a little surprise; it had been a while since Affection asked to talk to her in person.

Affection’s kingdom was a beautiful garden with several bands of flowers: there were red marigolds, white and blue hydrangeas, a nice flowerbed with narcissus of a pink that reminded her of Starfire’s hair color, and a vast quantity of green sunflowers all around, besides some other spread flowers in a smaller amount. Affection took care of all the flowers very carefully, and her most recent job was a little box with yellow tulips.

When she arrived, however, she was shocked. The flowers weren’t gray. But there was a component at the scenery she had never seen in Nevermore: snow.

Snow all around. Kneed next to the shattered tulips was Affection. Raven landed next to her and realized that they were the only flowers affected by the snow. All the other were a little opaque, but firmly standing and alive. Especially the green sunflowers.

“Affection?” she called, but didn’t get an answer. It started to snow “This snow… Is it because of Timidity?”

She watched the lilac emotion getting up, still with her back to Raven, and noticed she had her hood lifted, which was uncommon of her.

“No, Raven. The snow is a component of my garden for five years already” she informed “The exact same amount of time I’ve been taking care of these tulips… They took some time to stabilize, and now… I can’t tell how much time they will survive”

“Timidity said you needed to talk to me…” she mumbled. The emotion at last turned to look at her. She had puffy eyes and a red nose. Like she cried. A lot. “What is it? Why is this place a total mess?”

They remained silent for some moments, in which Affection opened her little tool box and picked up a pair of shears.

“Ever since Beast Boy came here… I’ve been felt a special affection for him” informed her lilac clone, walking to a green sunflower and pruning some branches.

Raven felt herself blush to the information, given unceremoniously. She opened her mouth to argue, but Affection kept talking.

“I started to try to make myself listened to… You refuse to listen, naturally, but I proceeded my attempts of being noted… For you and for him as well” she watered the sunflower and with a little shovel she dug the earth around it carefully “That until… That day. When Terra told me they were dating”

Raven looked away quickly. She remembered very well how painful it had been to hear that, although at the time she couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was best to keep not knowing.

“I cried and cried… I gave up on the tulips. I thought they could never have a place in here, after all. But then… I stopped” she finished fluffing the earth and cleaned her hands on a piece of cloth “Timidity came to talk to me. She reminded me of our destiny… At the time we still thought we would be doomed at sixteen… And how he may never look at me… at you… in that way, with or without Terra.”

That also hurt, deep. But Raven remained silent, focusing in some pink, blue and yellow daisies.

“Then I… accepted. His happiness was more important. If he get it with somebody else, I didn’t care. Then it started to snow. And I stopped trying… To make myself listened to… With some exceptions, of course”

A remote memory of a hug flashed in her head.

“So I worked on the tulips… It got easier. After she asked for help and treated you as a friend” the both  turned to the flowerbed with the shattered yellow tulips. One single flower remained standing. Tiny, but firm in the middle of the dead ones.

”But today….” She closed her hands on a fist “Deception can’t describe how I felt… All of us”

“I gave up on him so he could find happiness… With she, someone who could give him all we could not, because of our powers and our fate…” tears appeared and slid on her clone’s face “Only so she could break his heart?”

“How could she do this? First she scares me like that, saying we couldn’t even be friends, and then… she cheats on him with… what’s his face?” she sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Raven didn’t know what to do. She wanted to argue, to tell it wasn’t true, but… What’s the point?

“That” said Affection firmly, wiping her tears away “That I would never do”

Raven turned and walked towards an exit portal, before she would start crying too. That was why she couldn’t think logically. That was why Timidity was so strong. All came down to this. She passed by Rage’s kingdom, which looked like the only one without much change – Jump City destroyed and burning, although the emotion sounded stronger than usual, and she arrived at Knowledge’s library in the mountain.

Except for a fog and a cold weather, everything seemed normal. Walking into the rock building filled with books, she found her emotion with glasses and a yellow cloak seated and, as always, reading a book.

“Hello” said Raven, sitting on a chair in front of her, feeling exhausted. The emotion lifted her eyes.

“Tired?” she asked with a little smile.

“You have no idea…” she answered, closing her eyes.

“Oh, I have a good idea, since you didn’t give me a sarcastic answer for a change…” commented Knowledge. Raven opened her eyes and lifted an eyebrow.

“Apparently you’re the same was always” said Raven, and her clone shrugged.

“I deal with facts, Raven. I was already aware of everything you only found out today, and I don’t need to put anything on balance to help your decision. I’ll only give you what you should weight”

“What is it?” asked Raven sighing, sinking on the chair.

“On one pan: your friendship with Beast Boy, your sense of right and wrong” she listed, lifting her hands like pans in a balance “On the other one: the trust you have in Terra, your feelings for Beast Boy”

“Wait. My feelings for Beast Boy goes on the same pan as my trust in Terra?” she questioned, confused “On the not telling pan?”

“Naturally”

“What do you mean?”

“Now, Raven, didn’t Affection let it clear to you?” explained Knowledge, cleaning her glasses “She rathers carry the burden than allow Beast Boy’s suffering”

Once again, Raven found herself speechless.

“Why?” she asked at last “How about my selfish part? The one that wants my happiness or peace of mind?”

“It’s all the other of us” the emotion answered.

“All… She overlaps all of you?”

“ _You_ let her overlap all of us, Raven. Also Timidity, because of the guilt she feels for being who she is”

“Can’t I just stay in here forever?” whined Raven.

“Now you’re just acting like a child” said Knowledge, turning back to her book “But if you come back now you still can get some sleep. Timidity is retreating now that you’re aware of everything”

The empathic girl was silent for a few minutes.

“Can I look at last night’s register?” asked Raven at last, and her yellowish clone smiled and gave her the book she was reading. Raven leaf trough it, looking for a specific part, and after some minutes reading it, she closed the book and gave it back, getting up.

“Are you going?”

“Yes. I need to sleep” answered Raven, walking to the door “Thank you”

The Raven in glasses nodded and looked out through the window, watching the fog dissipates and the crows stop yelling, going back to their nests.

She smiled. Laziness was seizing the opportunity.

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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – The Next Day

Raven woke up with Sun light hurting her eyes. She moved her right hand and the curtains were wrapped in dark aura and slidded, deepening the room in darkness once again. The empath put her feet out of bed, stretching. Her head felt heavy and her mouth dry. Looking at the clock at the nightstand, she noted it was almost 11 o’clock. Considering she only returned from Nevermore around 6 o’clock, she had 5 hours of sleep.

After a good shower she left her room in her uniform, finding some asleep titans along her way. Bumblebee, for instance, was in her tiny form and lying on top of the common room doors. Coming inside, Raven came across most guests of the previous night.

Cyborg was snoring loudly, sitting on the couch with his head hanging backwards, the videogame controller still in his hands. At each side of him were asleep Más y Menos. Starfire was hugging Silkie and shrunk in a chair, next to Kole, sleeping with Gnark at her feet, asleep in a sitting position. A green sloth was spread at the carpet, with Thunder’s belly as pillow.

Raven walked to the kitchen, careful not to step on anyone, and met Robin, also dressed, drinking a cup of coffee and reading paper. He looked the same as always, safe for dark circles under his eyes that were visible even under the mask.

“Morning” he greeted her in low voice “Coffee?”

“Good morning” she answered, dismissing the coffee with a hand gesture and picking her kettle “How long do you intend on let them sleep?”

“Now that you’re up, about five seconds” he informed, looking at his watch. In the meanwhile, Raven found a blue sock inside her kettle and some goop on the stove’s surface, and decided to give up on the tea.

Robin made a sign for her to cover her ears, and she nodded, indicating she was ready. He pushed a button on his communicator and the Tower was filled with red lights and a loud alarm.

“What? What?” yelled Cyborg, sitting straight and looking around, not sure where he was or what was happening.

“Who’s the intruder? What is… the problem?” asked Starfire, dropping Silkie on the floor with prepared green lasers on hands, pointing to one place at a second.

All the other titans woke up with a startle, confused and mostly defensive. The doors slid open and Bumblebee came in looking dizzy, like she fell from a high spot. As sudden as it began, the alarm stopped, and Robin was standing on the kitchen’s counter, which was already covered on foot prints anyway.

“Very well!” he yelled, catching everyone’s attention “Dear guests, thank you for being here! We sadly say goodbye now! Resident Titans – get ready and present yourselves for cleaning in five minutes!”

A collective moan was heard to these warnings. Some titans went back to sleep and others asked for more time to get ready to leave.

“All the titans not resident of this Tower – if you’re still here in five minutes, you’ll be very welcome to help with the cleaning!”

The Honorary Titans suddenly remembered urgent appointments and found energy to get up quickly, and the room was filled with noise and people saying things like ‘Look at the time!’

“Thanks a lot, Sparky, it was a great party!” said Bumblebee, pinching Más y Menos’s ears and dragging them out.

“I hope to see you soon, Star!” waved Kole, as Gnark made some noises no one understood.

“Goodbye my friends…” Starfire muttered, her eyes still trying to close.

“Bye… Good to see you again…” Cyborg was waving at the frigde.

“Don’t even think about it!” exclaimed Robin, taking a green mouse by its tail, trying to sneak out with the crowd. The little rodent lowered its ears and when released, changed to the form of a young green man with messy hair, crumpled clothes and some beard wires.

Five minutes later, there were only five people at the common room, three of them trying to remain awake on the couch. Robin looked around.

“Where’s Terra?” he asked, turning to Beast Boy, but the changeling was drooling with his head leaned on Cyborg’s metallic shoulder.

“Last time I saw friend Terra” Starfire yawned, almost completely awake “she said she was going to her bedroom”

“Yes, she is there” informed Raven, after looking telepathically through the Tower.

“Very well. I will wake her up” said Robin “But first…”

A bucket of cold water fell on top of Cyborg and Beast Boy, and they woke up completely.

“Dude!” yelled Beast Boy, after turning into a fish and then back to his normal form “What was that about?”

“Cleaning” answered the leader, throwing at them a mop, a brush and a bottle of cleaning product “Kitchen and bathrooms”

“Star: hallway and windows” he said gentler to his girlfriend, also giving her a bucket and a mop “Raven: living room and elevator. I’ll get the rest of the common room and also be responsible for storing the things we used, and Terra gets the balcony”

After the boy wonder disappeared behind the doors, Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other. They knew they got the wrost part, but cleaning the kitchen seemed far better than the bathrooms. So, they ran desperately towards the kitchen at the same time they tried to push one another. Cyborg, however, was faster, and he handed Beast Boy a bottle of cleaning product specific for bathroom with a pretentious smile from behind the counter.

“Aw, man!” moaned the changeling, picking up the bottle and a bucket and walking with his ears lowered to the doors leading to the first (and most used) bathroom of the Tower.

“Good luck with whatever came out of Gnu when he stayed there for like fifteen minutes!” said Cyborg, waving and turning to his own job. Looking at the stuff covering the stove’s surface, however, the smile was wiped away from his face really fast.

Raven avoided Beast Boy’s eyes and concentrated in her cleaning area. CDs, games and controllers were wrapped into a black aura and came back to its places, just like any trash or food remains, which floated inside a big garbage bag. While the carpet went to the window to flap itself, she organized the cushions on the couch with her hands and the mop rubbed the floor with water and a lavender fresh product.

Robin joined them some minutes later, vacuuming the chairs area. Raven looked at him, anxious.

“Was Terra okay?” she asked, cleaning the tables with a wet cloth as he vacuumed below them.

“Hm? Yeah, she just has a pretty bad hangover” informed Robin, like he was telling nothing new “But she’s cleaning the balcony already, I walked her there”

“Okay…” she muttered, looking at the now black cloth after cleaning the footprints of someone stupid enough to think of dancing on the table.

After the mop’s work was done, she dried the floor with some wind produced by her powers and brought back the now clean carpet. She vacuumed the couch, finding some weird objects between the cushions, such as a shoe, chewed batteries and a utility belt that didn’t look like Robin’s; and she piled the bean bag chairs so Robin could take them to the deposit later. Cyborg was still cursing and yelling at the kitchen when she took the mop and bucket to the elevator.

Raven thought it would be quick, but surprisingly, all the elevator’s walls were covered with paint – at least she expected it was paint – like an abysmal someone had the brilliant idea of playing paintball in there. The empath grunted, finding it unfair, but then she turned and saw Starfire trying to clean a blue stain outside of the window that spread as it was rubbed, and hearing Cyborg’s swears when he opened the oven, and she came to the conclusion that they were even.

Three brushes covered by black energy were rubbing the paint of the walls, running to the floor as a dyed water, as Raven floated with her legs crossed in the middle of the elevator, thinking. She finally decided, taking into account the last surviving tulip at Affection’s garden, to give Terra a chance. It would be best to everyone if she tells Beast Boy herself what had happened. Raven wouldn’t come out as a gossipy, or feel guilty about Beast Boy’s suffering; Terra could show that she was in fact sorry and the changeling wouldn’t feel like he was tha last to know. Both of them could handle the issue in the better way possible.

Raven collected the remaining water as a ball in the air and threw it in the bucket. Finally, she passed a piece of cloth on the walls and the elevator was clean and shining again. Taking advantage of her position, she pressed the button to go to the balcony.

Already up there, she found Terra asleep, leaning against a broom. Now that there was day light, she could see that in the balcony it appeared to had place a second party. Plastic cups and food remains were spread all over the floor, one of the basketball hoops was broken and drawings made of the same paint on the elevator adorned the sports court where her teammates often played basketball and volleyball.

“Terra” she called, and the blonde woke up, startled.

“I’m cleaning it up, Robin, I was just…” she looked at the empath and relaxed “Oh, it’s just you, Raven…”

“I need to talk to you, Terra” said Raven, walking to the girl “Do you… remember what happened here last night? What I saw?”

Terra was silent for a few minutes with a frown.

“Yes”

“Well. I just wanted to say that… I won’t tell Beast Boy” she informed with a great effort. Terra raised her eyebrows “Because I think _you_ should”

“Me?” she asked, looking at her shoes.

“Yes. That’s the best way for you to discuss this and I think it’s easier on Beast Boy” she explained “Okay?”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right…” Terra sighed and sat down “He is going to hate me…”

“No” Raven argued without think, a squeeze in her chest “He couldn’t”

The two girls remain like that for some minutes, until the peaceful silence was broken by two words from inside of the Tower, echoing all over the island.

“OH, MAN!”

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	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – End and Beginning

February 20th 2009, 3:43 pm

One week had passed since the Titan’s big party. Raven wasn’t going so well since then. Terra still hadn’t tell Beast Boy about her kiss, and keeping this secret was disturbing the empath’s emotional balance.

Raven knew she had reached a dead end. She reminded the last conversation she had with the blonde, the previous night. After questioning her for the third or fourth time about telling Beast Boy, she finally got a straight answer. And she didn’t like it at all.

“ _Listen Raven, why do you care so much about it?” she asked, annoyed “You said it yourself: he could never hate me. So guess what, we both know one way or the other, Beast Boy is going to forgive me. Telling him about it will only make him sad and upset with himself for a while, then we’ll be together either way. Isn’t it best to spare him that?”_

Raven felt her blood boiling as Rage tried to assume, but in that moment Starfire showed up blabbing about something, giving her a way out before she could rip the colleague’s golden hair out.

In that moment, she had just finished meditating, and she came to the conclusion that she couldn’t just watch it anymore. Before she could do anything, however, she felt extremely negative emotions approaching her. Right after that, the room was filled with loud knocks on her door.

Confused, Raven walked to her room’s door, ready to lecture whoever was trying to knock down her door, but when she opened, she found something that left her speechless.

Terra, crying. Really crying, with tears, running nose and red face.

“What the…” she started, but was stopped.

“It was you, wasn’t it, Raven?” Terra questioned, pointing her finger to her face “You told him, I know you did, you’ve been jealous of us all along!”

“Calm down Terra, what are you talking…?”

Raven stopped talking when she saw Beast Boy walking to them, with a hard expression and a mixture of different emotions coming from him. He was as surprise as she was.

“Terra, what the hell are you doing here?” he asked, and there was absolutely no trace of the kindness he used to have when talking to his girlfriend, not even his friends.

“It was her, wasn’t it?” she yelled hysterically “She told you, she only wants me to be miserable!”

If Raven was surprised, it was nothing comparable to the shocking expression that came into the changeling’s face, and he looked at her with hurt in his eyes.

“You knew?!” he asked, incredulous “Did you know she was cheating on me?”

Raven felt herself pale, all warmth leaving her body.

“What? No, I… I just saw her at the party…”

“That was one week ago!” he yelled “I came to see you every afternoon since then and you couldn’t tell me?”

“I…” Raven was feeling lsot.

“What is happening here?” asked a voice from across the hall. Robin, Starfire and Cyborg had been attracted by the yelling and they were trying to understand the situation. Beast Boy laughed without humor.

“Nothing for you to worry about, great leader!” he answered “Just a really dog day, in which I caught my girlfriend’s tongue in another guy’s mouth…”

The three of them turned to Terra, surprised, and she hid her face on her hands, sobbing.

“… And then I found out that she had one of the people I trust most as accomplice!” he completed, indicating Raven. For one second nobody said anything. Terra cried, Raven bit her bottom lip with a guilty expression, Robin analyzed the situation, Cyborg seemed unable to close his mouth and Starfire looked like she was about to cry.

Then Beast Boy turned and walked away.

“Beast Boy, wait!” asked Raven, not knowing what to say. Before she could touch the changeling’s shoulder, however, he dodged her hand and turned to her with a furious look.

“Betrayed by the girlfriend and the best friend on the same day…” he muttered, then he changed into an eagle and flew by the window. They stayed on the same place for a while, watching the little green dot disappear on the horizon.

“Man… I’m Beast Boy’s best friend!” said Cyborg, breaking the silence. That took all of them of the trance they were.

“Is that true, Terra, Raven?” asked Robin, looking at them.

“Not of your business!” answered Terra, running into him and going to her room.

They all turned to Raven.

“I… I saw her kissing a man at the party, one week ago” she told, feeling miserable “But she say it was just that time. I tried to convince her to tell Beast Boy… I didn’t want…”

“…To meddle” completed Robin, with a sad smile on his face “You did the right thing, Raven”

“Yes friend, you must not blame yourself” confirmed Starfire, putting her hands on the empath’s shoulders in a consolation gesture that, for the first time, was welcome.

“But he…” she started, concerned.

“BB is just nervous” said Cyborg, raising his hand “Once he calms down, he’ll see you had nothing to do with it. The one to blame is… Well…”

He left the sentence on air, but they all knew who he was referring to.

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February 20th 2009, 23:37 pm

Raven was sitting by the kitchen, waiting for the water on the kettle to warm. She was supporting her head on her hands, feeling miserable. She feared losing Beast Boy’s friendship forever. The words he said, and mostly, the look he gave her didn’t stop popping on her mind, and a thousand meditation hours couldn’t make it stop.

All the Titan Tower had a melancholic aura, worried with the friends. Terra still hadn’t left her room, or answered to Starfire’s attempts to talk, and Beast Boy still wasn’t back.

The kettle whistled and Raven turned off the fire. When she was pouring hot water in her blue mug, the common room’s doors opened. She spilled water all over the counter and didn’t even notice it when she realized it was Beast Boy coming in.

“Hey” he said with an apathy tone, walking to the couch and sitting down.

“Hey…” she answered, apprehensive. She put down the kettle on the wet counter and took her mug, warming her hands. For an instant, she thought about leaving, but she realized she wasn’t capable of doing that until she had settled things with her friend.

“Beast Boy…” she started, looking at the back of his neck, from behind the couch.

“It’s okay, Raven” he stopped her, turning to her “I’m sorry I said you betrayed me… The one who did that was Terra”

It was like the weight of one hundred anvils was taken off the empath’s chest, and she breathed, relieved. Still, she felt like she should say something. She walked around the couch, staying in front of him.

“I wanted to tell you. But I thought Terra should do it” she explained, looking at the liquid darkening in the mug “I also thought it was a onetime thing. I had no idea she was still seeing him”

“I understand” he nodded, still frowning “Thanks for trying to put some sense in her head, and for the concern for my well-being too”

“We… We’re friends” she said, like she needed to have a reason to worry about him. He gave her a small smile in return.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, thinking this was the protocol in this situation. He shrugged, indicating she could ask whatever she wanted “How did you find out?”

“I saw them” he explained without emotion, chucking without humor “I went to the quarry where she likes to train…”

“I’m really sorry…” muttered Raven, feeling bitter behind her words “But everything’s going to be okay, you know”

“I suppose time heals all wounds or whatever…” he agreed without much conviction “But right now… It really sucks”

“I still have to deal with her…” he sighed, getting up “It’s gonna be a long night…”

Raven remained sat until her tea was cold, wondering what exactly those words meant.

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The next day, breakfast was quieter than normal, and a light tension not spoken. Robin held the newspaper, but was on the same page for some time, Starfire poked her plate with eggs and mustard, sometimes actually eating some, Raven drunk her herbal tea in small and paused sips and Cyborg was making bacon without anyone against it.

They all turned when the other two member of the team entered the common room and walked to the kitchen. Terra had circles under her eyes and a red nose, but was no longer crying, and Beast Boy was abnormally serious, although his expression was lighter. Seeing the both of them coming in together, Raven was certain they had made up, and in her chest she felt something between relief and pain.

 “Hey guys… We have an announce to make” said Beast Boy, stopping in front of them with hands in his pockets. Terra sighed and crossed her arms, nodding “Terra and I… are not together anymore”

The four friends were speechless.

“You are no longer boyfriend and girlfriend?” asked Starfire, and they nodded.

“We are really sorry it didn’t work out” said Robin, standing up and patting his green friend’s back.

“Thanks, man” he answered without smiling and walked to the kitchen.

“Well… Water under the bridge!” said Cyborg, trying to sound cheerful, anslo tapping Beast Boy’s back “We’re all here for you!”

Starfire hugged both friends and went back to her meal. Raven didn’t say anything, surprised by how the things turned out. She found Terra’s look and saw anger, like she was blaming her.

The fact of being totally indifferent to this made her realize the last tulip had perished.

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February 27th 2009, 4:54 pm

“Dude, I can’t take those two anymore…” said Cyborg, entering the common room, extremely annoyed.

“Oh, are they doing it again?” whined Starfire.

“It is really stressful” agreed Raven, looking from behind a book.

“Beast Boy and Terra again?” asked Robin, grumpy.

“What do you think?” questioned Cyborg sitting on the couch “I was peacefully polishing the T-Car on the garage, BB was watching from afar as always, since I don’t let him come too close, when Terra shows up to ask if I can give her a ride God-knows-where. Beast Boy starts teasing her, she yells back, and that goes until I throw them out of my workshop!”

“A similar event took place when friend Terra was going with me to the mall…” told Starfire, brushing Silkie “Friend Beast Boy came to borrow some of Silkie’s wipes and…”

“Wait up Star” asked Cyborg, raising his hand. He recorded on his registers ‘make fun of Beast Boy for borrowing wipes’ then said: “Okay, go on”

“… Then friend Terra started to imply that he needed them for still being an infant, and the two of them started yelling!” she finished, tears in her big green eyes.

“It’s hard to handle all these emotion instability every day…” complemented Raven, rubbing her temples.

“It’s going to take a while, but…” started Robin, but a loud alarm interrupted him, and the common room’s computer turned itself on, with all the information about the city’s problem.

“Oh, great!” cheered Cyborg “I really need to punch someone… Who’s gonna be the punching bag?”

“Cinderblock” informed Robin, checking the information “The location had been passed to your communicators. Titans, go!”

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	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – When a Door Closes...

February 27th 2009, 7:54 pm

One week had passed since Beast Boy and Terra broke up. A slight tension took place whenever the two of them were in the same room. And soon they started a senseless fight extremely embarrassing for the others. But their friends were trying to be patient; after all, it was a difficult time.

In that particular moment, Robin had to take a deep breath in order not to explode, listening to the yelling around him. This time, they had gone too far.

The team was fighting Cinderblock when a big piece of earth hit Beast Boy on the head. Accidents happened on the battlefield, everyone knew that. But the changeling took it personal. When the leader realized, they were both arguing while the rest of the team was taking the criminal down.

“So you’re saying you were right, that’s it?” asked Beast Boy aggressively to the ex girlfriend “It’s a little hard to see how’s that, Terra!”

“Star said she agrees with me!” she exclaimed, pointing at the Tamarean.

“Really, Star?” Beast Boy turned to her. The poor alien had a confusion expression, like she had no ideia how she had been involved.

“No, no, friend Terra, I think you misunderstood me” she explained with her hands together “What I said was that I understood your feeling of being laid aside.”

“If you’re looking for a second opinion, Cyborg told me he could never forgive you if he was in my place, and that you’re a…” the changeling completed the sentence with a very disrespect word.

“Really, Cyborg?” questioned Terra with her eyebrows lifted.

“What?” Cyborg blinked, like he hadn’t heard.

“Just stop trying to make people applaud your mistakes, Terra” ordered Beast Boy with contempt.

“They’re just facts; even Raven knew and she practically supported me!” she argued, crossing her arms.

“That’s not what happened” said the empath annoyed. For how long would that be thrown on her face?!

“Raven already explained her reasons to me!” retorted the changeling “Why can’t you accept what is obvious to everybody?”

“Sure, put all the blame on me!” she agreed with irony “After all, I’m really a… How would you say, Cyborg?”

“… What?” he asked again, pretending he was unclogging his ear.

That made a general discussion explode, with everybody saying something and no one understanding anything. Robin clenched his teeth and counted to ten while he watched Cinderblock being properly arrested in a trunk, and the police officer give him the thumbs up with a smile. He waved and turned back to his team.

“Enough… Enough… ENOUGH!” he yelled, and the talking stopped, all of them looking at him “Raven. Take us to the Tower. Now”

The empath didn’t wait for second order, anxious to get out of the city’s view in that embarrassing situation. Some seconds later, they were at the Tower’s common room.

“Okay” said the leader in a determined tone “Terra, Beast Boy. Look at what you are doing to our team!”

Starfire had tears in her eyes, Raven was rubbing her temples with an annoyed expression and Cyborg seemed purposely out of air, looking at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Listen… we know you’re going through a tough time” he informed, in a lighter tone “But I need you guys to act more mature! First rule: personal life out of the battlefield!”

“You don’t have to… like each other right now, but you must find a way of being in the same place without fighting!”

“Yes. And please, without putting us in the middle!” begged Starfire, indicating the other four.

“Or the town” complemented Raven.

“If you guys… need a break…” started Robin, a little insecure “I can get one of you… or even both… a job out of town”

All the titans turned to him, surprised. Nobody had thought about it so radically.

“Maybe something with the East Titans, or some other place that needs help…” he continued “Temporary, of course. Just so… these wounds can heal. I’m just offering an option.”

A silence fell to those words.

“We’re going to eat a pizza. Think about it… And try to find a way”

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March 9th 2009, 2:53 pm

Cyborg was taking care of his baby car at his workshop, appreciating a moment of calm and silence. He breathed deeply, smelling the grease scent, and started to analyze the options for new devices he could add to the official Teen Titans transportation. That was when the door opened suddenly and an annoying voice followed.

“What’s up, Cyborg!” said Beast Boy, coming in without ceremony. The natural reaction of the robot man was to get really annoyed, demand that the young man remained behind the yellow band (he really painted a yellow band on the floor) and kept his hands to himself and his mouth shut. This time, however, he looked at the friend with an expression of pleasant surprise.

“BB!” he greeted him, his eyebrows lifted “What are you doing here? I thought his was your time of the day to… Let’s see... Sit and whine about how the life sucks?”

“Right. But I’m out of that vibe, man!” he informed, still not on the enthusiasm worthy of the Beast Boy he used to know, but way better than the one he had showed the last weeks “Water under the bridge, right? The sad and tragic Beast Boy from last week is gone!”

“Good, that guy sucked!” commented Cyborg without any inhibitions “A couple more days I would have to offer you the T Car to cheer you up!”

“What? Oh, man…” he mumbled, his ears lowering again.

“Just kidding, green head… You know I would never do that” he said with a big smile. It was good to tease the friend without looking like he was going to kill himself or something.

“Well, whatever!” he shrugged like he didn’t really care “Anyway, I was thinking, maybe this was for the best!”

“What was for the best?”

“Breaking up with Terra. Things weren’t like before” he divagated, sitting on the stool behing the yellow band where he used to stay “Of course I would prefer if it had happened without the factor of her making out with a guy behind my back, but…”

“Are you really serious? You used to be crazy about that girl!” asked Cyborg, a wrench in his hands.

“Yeah, but I’m not anymore. We just weren’t doing any good one for another, you see?” he started to swing in the stool “Right now, I’m feeling a little relieve for being single”

Suddenly Cyborg’s head lifted from where he was working, bumping into the open car hood.

“Dude! You’re right!” he yelled, seeming excited “I hadn’t realize until now… You’re single!”

“Yeah, I am…” Beast Boy agreed, confused.

“Now we can go out to meet chicks! I’ll finally have a wing man!” he said with a shining eye “Afterall, you and Robin decided to get girlfriends when you were what - twelve?”

“Dude, I don’t know if I’m ready to meet someone so soon…” Beast Boy raised his hands, not wanting to compromise.

“That doesn’t matter! What matters is that you will help _me_ to meet hot girls!” he determined, proud “And soon enough, you will be ready”

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Things were going so much better at the Tower. There were no more arguments, Terra and Beast Boy had made a silence agreement to ignore each other at home and interact only the necessary and with some extra formality on the battlefield. This way, nobody had to resort to the option suggested by Robin of a separation, even a temporary one.

Raven was at a new emotional balance. The negative emotions that tormented her the last few weeks had left her, and without fights all the time, she didn’t need to deal with any extern emotional conflict. However, she was now aware of the fact that she had for Beast Boy esteem deeper than friendship. With the recent single condition of the changeling and the absent of any terrible fate awaiting her, she felt Affection trying to overcome barriers and make herself express more frequently.

It was hard to keep her under control, not for reasons like lack of meditation, but because she was running out of arguments of why _not_ allow it. Beast Boy was now single; she had no remaining feeling for Terra to have some consideration of what she would think, she no longer waited a destiny that leaded to her death and the end of the world, and her changeling friend was certainly _not_ helping by showing up at her door every afternoon and showing care for her, filling Affection with – she believed fake – hope.

The only thing left was the fact that her powers were too dangerous to allow a loving relationship with anybody, and she grabbed to that, telling herself that it was for best of everyone around her. Plus, she was certain Beast Boy would never like her that way, her mind saying that over and over again, trying to ignore the little voice in the back that raised adverse hypothesis.

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April 10th 2009, 3:47 pm

Robin came inside the common room, noting a big mess all around the TV area, as well as a green stain running to all directions.

“Beast Boy… What are you doing?” he asked with a frown. Raven was reading and drinking tea at the kitchen’s counter and Starfire was trying to make Silkie go inside a colorful clothe.

“I’m looking for my DVD of the Assassin Avenger Ninjas III!” he answered, searching under the cushions on the couch and not putting them back.

“Calm down… When did you last saw it?”

“I don’t know, about a month and a half ago…” he scratched his head, thinking. In that moment Cyborg and Terra came through the doors.

“What the hell happened here?!” he questioned surprised, looking around.

“Beast Boy is looking for some movie he lost…” answered Robin emotionless.

“Not any movie, Cyborg, is Assassin Avenger Ninjas!” explained the changeling.

“III?” questioned his metallic friend, suddenly serious.

“Yeah… I can’t remember when or where I…”

“It’s in my room” informed Terra automatically. They looks met and everyone else got paralyzed, expecting an explosion “You left it there when we watched it a month ago”

“Oh, ok. Do you mind if I go get it?” he asked, getting up. The blonde shook her head and he left to catch his DVD. The other four titans sighed, relieved. This was the civilizer dialogue their two friends had in a month.

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May 24th 2009, 8:16 am

Another breakfast in the Titan Tower, another tofu versus meat discussion. Already used to that conflict, Robin read the headlines without worries, Starfire fed Silkie with mustard covered waffles with a smile on her face, Terra drank her orange juice peacefully and Raven waited her kettle whistle without any expression.

“Cyborg, do you have any idea of the brutality these animals are murdered so you can eat bacon and ham?” asked Beast Boy serious “While you can eat something basically the same taste that doesn’t harm anyone?”

“No way is the same taste, Beast Boy, tofu tastes like tofu, and it’s nothing like meat!” argued the robot man, putting some ketchup on his ham “And I even understand that you don’t eat meat, but eggs and milk as well? Isn’t that too exaggerated?”

“No way man, did you know the cow’s baby is taken away from her when it’s born so she can produce more milk?” Beast Boy told them, putting his fork really close to his friend’s nose “Can you picture something as cruel as that?”

“I already told you not to tell me these things; I’m perfectly fine without ever knowing it!” exclaimed Cyborg, temporarily moved to imagine the baby’s cow taken away from its mother “Milk is milk, and I don’t need to know anything else”

“Is that true?’ asked Starfire, a horrified expression on her face.

“I watched this documentary…”

“Beast Boy, this kind of documentary shows things that aren’t necessarily rule” said Robin, coming from behind his newspaper, concerned about his girlfriend’s impressible nature.

“But…”

“Enough!” ordered Cyborg, getting up “I’ll go get some barbecue sauce and when I come back, I want this subject dropped!”

Beast Boy sighed, eating his tofu and drinking his soy milk. Raven, remaining silent through all the discussion and looking like she was lost somewhere in her mind, put her mug with the tea leaves next to Cyborg’s plate and poured hot water in it.

“Hey Rae, you’re kind of distracted today” he pointed, but she didn’t show any sign of hearing him “Raaaae! Raven!”

She lifted her gaze and, seeing Beast Boy looking at her, she quickly straightened herself up, the kettle bumped into the mug and dropped it right on Cyborg’s plate, spilling hot water on it. She took the mug right away, but Cyborg was back already. The empath bite her bottom lip and faced the other way while the robot man ate and made a weird expression.

Beast Boy’s look found Terra’s, who also had accompanied the scene, and they both started laughing.

“Hm? What?” asked Cyborg, confused.

Terra smiled and gave the changeling a fast look. Maybe they were going back to their usual friendship. What she didn’t notice was that Beast Boy’s gaze, on the other hand, seemed not divert from a certain girl in a blue cape.

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June 12th 2009, 4:37 pm

Robin, Raven, Starfire and Terra were in the common room, watching a movie. Not any movie, but one chosen by Starfire. That meant they weren’t properly watching it as much as Raven was reading, Terra staring at a dot on the horizon with her mouth open and Robin trying not to sleep.

‘How exactly did Beast Boy and Cyborg got away from this?’ thought Robin after waking up suddenly for the third time. Fortunately, his girlfriend was so aborted she didn’t even notice it.

The couple in the TV kissed under the sunrise’s light and the movie was over, with Starfire drying her tears.

“How wonderful!” she exclaimed, turning the lights on as the credits appeared. In that moment, the doors opened and the missing teammates got in.

“Where were you guys?” asked the leader, more annoyed than worried.

“Nowhere special…” said Cyborg “But BB here helped me get a date with a super hot girl!”

“A super hot girl?” questioned Starfire, excited “Does that mean she have fire powers?”

“What…?” the robot man grimaced then shook his head “No Star, a girl… A really beautiful girl!”

“You guys went to a party?” asked Terra, a little resentful.

Nobody seemed to notice the eyes of a certain empath now were shining with a red light.

“No, nothing like that…” answered Beast Boy, and Raven turned, curious.

“We met her at the park” explained the metallic titan “Then BB played the fallen and hurt little bird, and I was the sensible guy worried about the poor thing”

“You guys are the worst…” mumbled Raven, although the grip in her chest got a little loose.

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	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - ...Another Door Opens

August 12th 2009, 7:54 pm

“So who is this guy?” asked Cyborg, driving the T-Car.

“I have no idea” answered Robin, right next to him “The report only said an individual with supernatural powers was putting people in danger next to the bridge”

“A new guy?” asked Beast Boy from the back seat “That didn’t happen in a while…”

“We’re about to find out” said Cyborg, turning a corner right before the bridge and stepping on the breaks once he saw the huddle of cars right at the entrance.

The three heroes came out of the car quickly, catching sight of the arrival of their three teammates in the air, keeping their distance and waiting for orders, considering the target was in fact someone unfamiliar to them.

“Since you’re new in town…” started Robin, as they approached the figure on the bridge’s center, with the arms up “… We’ll give you a chance to surrender with just a warning”

The figure turned to the sound of these words. All around it there were several citizens hanging from the bridge’s supporting cables, covered by a red energy aura. The titans got some minutes to be surprise by the criminal’s appearance, which was very different from the villains they were used to.

The man ahead of them didn’t look like he was much older than them; he wore a purple suit, silver boots and a long black cloak. He was thin, but had a wide chest and strong arms, had long auburn hair and a young face with nice features and green eyes.

“Oh, the Teen Titans…” he said with a serious, devoid of emotion voice “I hope you don’t have any pretension of interrupting my ritual… I spent a lot of time with the preparations”

“Well, when one of the preparations involves hanging innocent people in a bridge in our city, we do need to interfere. Titans, go!”

The man seemed to just sigh, like he had to deal with a small inconvenient, and raise a red energy barrier around him, absorbing several of the green lasers thrown by Starfire. The shield then retracted itself in a ball, which he threw at the Tamarean’s direction, that couldn’t dodge in time and fell a good distance away from the bridge.

Robin threw several of his discs, but the man simply wrapped them with his red energy and diverted their course, hitting Cyborg instead, who came running from the other side ready to attack with a punch, being paralyzed in a cube of ice, which slid on the floor in the boy wonder’s direction, pinning him against the side of the bridge.

A green pterodactyl tried to stick its claws on the redhead’s shoulders by one side, while a big rock floated towards his back. He jumped backwards, landing on the rock, and with a punch turned it to sand. With the other hand he grabbed the pterodactyl’s paw before it could grab him and a strange phenomenon took place The dinosaur’s skin turned red by a fraction of second and, right after, Beast Boy, in his human form, was thrown towards Terra, and the both of them rolled on bridge.

The man didn’t show any victory reaction, only hit one hand on the other and turned back to the citizens on the cables of the bridge. They now seemed sleepy, and the cables were shining with red light.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos” sang a feminine voice, and the cables locking the civilians were covered by a black aura, breaking. People fell on platforms of the same energy that floated away, leaving them out of danger.

“My power supply…” muttered the man, looking nervous for the first time. He turned to Raven, who put herself between him and the fainted people “You…”

“You may want to consider another source of energy beside innocent people” she suggested in her bored voice “A cereal bar, maybe?”

The two sorcerers started a battle of energy rays. Raven made his cloak wrap itself around his arms and he ripped it off, throwing a red disc in her direction, who managed to dodge, the wind caused by the speed of the disc only making her hood fell.

The other titans had recovered and were surrounding the duo, high in the sky, since Raven thought it was safer to attract him far away from the ground and people.

“You have interesting powers…” said the mage, like he was considering something “Since you took my energy sources away, I’ll take it from you instead”

Before Raven could absorb the meaning of these words, the man in front of her turned and disappeared, reappearing really close to her face. She opened her mouth to utter her mantra and push him away, but then his lips met hers. She blinked, surprised for an instant. Shortly thereafter, however, she felt extremely weak, and the world went black.

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Beast Boy raised his head with difficulty, feeling something soft under his back.

“Ouch… Beast Boy, get off me!” yelled Terra’s voice, pushing him.

“Ow… All my body hurts… That guy… Transform me?!” he wondered, shocked, remembering that when the mage touched him, he felt suddenly weak and saw himself back to his human form without giving this order to his body.

“Come on, Beast Boy, there’s only Raven left!” said Terra urgently.

“Help me!” he asked, getting up slowly, but worried to know her empath friend was facing such an adversary by herself. The blonde sighed exasperated and pulled him up to the rock floating by her side. Both of them got near at the same time Robin managed to unfreeze Cyborg and they ran by the rock’s side, watching Raven and the sorcerer going up.

“Raven is taking him away from the bridge!” observed Robin “Terra, take us up!”

Two more rocks appeared, on which the leader and the robot man jumped, and the four titans approached the mix of black and red lights, just as Starfire, who had recovered from the fall.

“What’s happening up there?” asked Cyborg, confused. The wizard seemed to have disappeared out of the sudden.

When they got near enough, they found Raven and the redhead… Kissing.

Beast Boy could count on one hand how many times he felt like that. He forgot about all pain on his body, the fact that he was working on a team, where he was or anything not related to two simple goals: take Raven away from the target, and then, destroy it. All started to go in slow motion, and his vision turned black and white, since colors were not important right now.

His legs left the stony surface, taking a big impulse that took him precisely to the man’s throat. It was needed a gigantic effort from his rational part to _not_ close his jaw around the soft and warm meat. It help that he did took him away from Raven. Then he realized he was on a free fall.

Suddenly, his nostrils filled with the smell of grass and he felt a thump and a big pressure against the body under his. Before he could recover, two red eyes met his and everything went black.

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Beast Boy woke up with a big commotion around him. Lights, sirens and voices from everywhere. He tried to move and discovered there wasn’t a single piece of his body non painful.

“Ahhh…” he moaned, sitting with difficulty.

“Beast Boy!” exclaimed a voice by his side. Terra and Starfire appeared on his sight, both with anxious expressions.

“How are you feeling, friend?” asked Star, her hands together.

“I…” he suddenly remembered all that happened “Where’s Raven? Is she okay?”

“Cyborg took her to the Tower” informed Terra.

“What happened? Is she in danger?”

“Apparently that guy sucked friend Raven’s energy when he touched her lips with his” told Star in a worried voice “Friend Cyborg took her to the Tower first because her condition was worst than yours”

“Yeah, well, after you freaked out and jumped in that guy…” said Terra, looking at him like he was crazy “I pulled a piece of the lawn so you guys could fall somewhere softer, and Star picked Raven on air, she had passed out.”

“But of you hadn’t pushed him away from her, it could be too late” Robin appeared next to them, serious “He has the ability of take energy from people and use it in the form of that red energy. I believe that with this technique he made you transform into human”

“But she…”

“…Is recovering, not to worry” he tranquilized them “Cyborg already made all the support treatment he could and she’s in her cure trance”

“Glorious!” Starfire clapped.

“Great!” sighed Beast Boy. Only after he got to the Tower and saw Raven safe and sound, with a pacific expression and floating above the bed in the infirmary, he had time to consider what that new feeling in his chest meant.

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	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Decisions

August 13th 2009, 11:41 pm

Beast Boy was rolling all over his bed, not being able to sleep. The events from the previous day still were pressing in his brain. Specially his reaction to Raven kissed by somebody else. Just the thought of it made him feel some kind of anger impelling him, squeezing his chest and throat, almost blinding him. At first he tried to tell himself it was just a protection instinct towards his friend. But this theory fell flat when he remembered he felt nothing but surprise to see Starfire kissing a complete stranger, and hell, not even when he caught Terra, his girlfriend, kissing someone else he had such an intense anger. Something… primitive… bestial.

Raven had finished recovering energy during the day and was feeling fine. When she came to thank him for saving her, he felt a cold wave going through his insides that had nothing to do with injuries or lack of energy.

So, that must meant he had… Feelings for Raven. Of course, she was very pretty – she seemed to get even prettier lately, and one day, years ago, he had a little crush on her. Plus, the two of them were in great terms since he matured a little bit, but… It was weird. He hadn’t felt this way about anyone since his break up with Terra. He wasn’t sure it was a good thing.

He laid down on his belly and let his mind wander. Again the scene of Raven being kissed against the dark sky popped in his mind, but this time he was the one kissing her, and not against her will… A warm sensation spread in his chest and he smiled.

Yes, this was a good thing. And he was ready to do something about it.

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August 14th 2009, 10:24 am

The next day, after breakfast, Beast Boy went to his usual rock by the edge of the little island where the Titan Tower stood and sat down to think. He had established the previous night he had feeling for Raven, and decided to something, but he didn’t know exactly what. Simply confess, right now, seemed wrong. He wasn’t ready, and he knew she wouldn’t take him seriously.

The thing was that Raven wasn’t like most girls. He had followed the two times in all those years the empath dated and both didn’t end well. First that Malchior dragon, who had used her without a second thought and broken her heart, and then the gothic guy some months ago, who tried to go too far.

He needed to do something, anything that showed her how serious he was about it and at the same time made her trust him. But she was Raven, so it had to be something special. Really special. Something… Different from what he normally would do.

What would he normally do on a date? First thing on his mind: go to the movies. But he needed to think like Raven. If he had learned anything on his relationship with Terra, was that the date needed to please both parts. So, what did Raven think of the movies? They were too crowded: she didn’t like conglomerate of people. Another thing: the empath had a weird taste for movies. She thought that in general TV melted people’s brains and she always criticized the plots of the movies he liked.

What did she like then? Reading. That was something they couldn’t do together. Once, he tried to read a book over her shoulder to see what was so good about it, but apparently someone’s breath on your neck when you’re reading is not exactly pleasant. At least that was what he deduced when she threw a cushion on his head.

What else? Meditate. Ok, he could do that with her – Star and Terra did sometimes, but it’s not something that allows them to talk and meet one another. He knew she liked to go to a Coffee place where people declaim poetry, but he also knew he would be so depressed by the place’s aura he wouldn’t be able to be himself.

Beast Boy hit his fingers against his knee, thinking, He had the feeling he was missing something. Then he remembered somewhere perfect.

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Raven had just put her feet on the floor after some hours of meditation when she heard a knock on her door. She struggled not to smile. When Beast Boy and Terra broke up, the changeling stopped his visits to her for about two weeks. Of course, he was miserable and trying to put himself together, reorganizing his life and schedule – Cyborg called him ‘zombie BB’ – but she did miss him.

But that was no reason to lower her guard, she thought, putting on a grumpy expression and going to the door.

“What?” she asked, opening the door to let only her face appear. As expected, Beast Boy was there. He was closer than usual, however, making the empath take a step back, and the door opened completely.

“Hey Rae… I mean, Raven” he greeted her with a big smile on his face. A different emotion was emanating from him today. Would it be… anxiety? Worry? “How are you today?”

“… As usual. Why do you ask?” she lifted an eyebrow, finding the green colleague’s behavior a bit odd.

“Well, I was just thinking…” he muttered, staring at his feet for some reason “If you’re doing something tomorrow night”

“Tomorrow is… Saturday, right?” she said, turning inside her room and looking at a calendar hung above her desk. In the next day’s square was written ‘Star’. “Well, since it’s not my laundry day, I’ll just meditate.”

“So nothing imperative?” he questioned, serious.

“I suppose not” she shrugged, wondering where he was getting.

“Cool! So, would you like to go to the movies with me?” he opened a smile again. She frowned, feeling something was wrong.

“But Starfire will be doing laundry” she said. He stared at her like he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Are we going to the movies without her? Is Robin okay with that?”

“What? No, no. I meant… Just the two of us”

Raven just stared at him, half impressed, half suspicious. What if he was messing with her?

“Why?”

“I just thought we could have some fun and, you know, get to know each other” he explained, and there was no trace of joking on his voice. Neither had she felt the excitement he usually emanated before a practical joke.

“We live in the same Tower for like five years” she said, feeling her face going warm and a euphoric emotion she was sure had something to do with Affection.

“Well, we never do anything together” he argued, looking her in the eyes “I’d like to spend some time with you. So… Shall we?”

Something on the way he said that, or maybe it had been just his hypnotizing look made her answer immediately, not stopping to think or consider the meaning of it.

“Yes”

Beast Boy’s face lighted. His eyes sparkled and he opened a gigantic smile.

“Great! You know that fast food I worked at, right? Meet me there at 9 pm!”

“But… The movie theater is on the other side of town” she said unsure, since she only had been there once.

“We’re not going there. Oh, I’ll wear civil clothes, but you can go as you prefer” he informed smiling “See ya!”

With this enigmatic phrase he left her, seeming in a hurry to leave before she could change her mind.

‘Are you sure this was a wise decision?’ asked a little voice in the back of her mind making Raven remind a certain brown cloak emotion.

‘You tell me!’ she answered, closing the door annoyed ‘You’re the one responsible to tell me why _not_ to go!’

‘Well, it’s hard when someone shouts and pushes…’ she knew the voice meant Affection.

‘No problem’ she breathed deeply ‘Because Affection is thinking this is some kind of date’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘Of course not. He said it himself: we never do stuff together, like he does with the others. As friends.’

“It’s _not_ a date!” she said firmly to her reflection on the window.

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‘This is not a date’ Raven thought that night, while she laid down to sleep and set the clock to an hour earlier, allowing her to have time to meditate before the… event.

‘This isn’t a date’ her mind repeated while she was in the shower, dropping some extra shampoo on her violet hair.

‘It isn’t a date’ again as she saw the sunset from the balcony, finishing her meditation.

‘No, it’s not a date…’ she considered, picking up clothes carefully.

‘It is not!’ she emphasized, going back to her dressing table and putting a pair of discrete blue earrings.

‘It...’

“Hey Raven!” shouted a voice in the distance. She had got to the fast food place, and saw a green man waving at her. She took a deep breath and walked to him.

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“Where are we going?” asked Raven, turning on a corner.

“To the movies” answered Beast Boy, staring at her more than usual. She was very pretty, in black pants, a white long sleeve blouse and a blue coat. Her boots and belt were the same as always, but they fit these new clothes very well. Something else was different… Earrings?

“I know that” she said dryly.

“Ok, ok, we’re not too far now, just after this traffic light…” he pointed and held her wrist to show her they should cross the street. It was delicate and subtle movement, but it made Raven’s heart jump inside her chest. “Here we are!”

The empath forgot for a moment of her emotions to look at the place her friend indicated. Had he not took her there and showed her, she would had passed without noticing anything. It was a glass showcase with some posters on it. They were movie posters, but she couldn’t see how that was a movie theater. There were four posters and that was it.

“Here” called Beast Boy, and she saw one of the posters was hanging on the place’s door. She followed him and they went down some stairs. What kind of place was that? Would they watch the movie at someone’s basement?

Getting to the end of the stairs, however, Raven saw a nice lobby with the same posters hanging at the entrance with indications of time and price, dim light and some tables spread all over the place. Three ticket windows were open at the back and a hall took to the exhibition rooms. There was also a snack store with great variety.

“So what do you think?” asked Beast Boy next to her.

“This place is amazing” she said honestly “How did you find it? Why is it so hidden?”

“I don’t know, it’s not a big place” he shrugged “I fell here once when we were fighting Plasmums. Do you wanna sit?”

Raven followed him to one of the little tables. He was wearing blue jeans, a purple T-Shirt with a black shirt and white sneakers.

“Did you pick the movie?” she questioned, examining the posters.

“Yeah, I did, there’re only two rooms each time anyway” he passed her a ticket and she noticed it had been bought while she was surprised with the place’s existence.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked, opening her wallet.

“What? No, Raven, I invited you, it’s on me” he said quickly, putting his hand over hers and stopping her from opening the wallet completely. She raised her head and their looks crossed for a second. Then he put his hand away as she diverted her look.

“That’s stupid, I can pay for my own ticket”

“Never mind that. Anyway, the session starts in fifteen minutes. Did you like my choice?” he tried to change the subject. She bit her bottom lip, knowing she wouldn’t be distracted.

“I obviously didn’t see the movie, but…” she started, examining the posters “I think that would be my first choice too” Beast Boy was delighted.

“But… These aren’t the movies in the usual theaters, are they?”

“Aren’t you smart” he laughed. “They’re not. Actually, this movie is emptier ‘cause it has this ‘cult’ movies… I thought you might like”

“It is peaceful” she agreed, feeling her cheeks blush to know he had the concern of thinking of something she might like.

“So Rae…” he said after some quiet minutes “Did you know I speak the Upper Lamumba’s tribe language?”

“No, I didn’t” she shook her head, not knowing what he meant by that.

“See, that’s something you didn’t know about me!” he exclaimed in a victorious way “Now you”

“What about me?”

“Tell me something I don’t know about you”

“Hm… I can speak Sanskrit”

“I already knew that”

“Did you?” she was surprised “How?”

“I asked you once about one of your books language, and you said it was written in Sanskrit” he explained “Another one”

“I…” she thought. She didn’t really want to share any of the things that came to her mind with the friend.

“Okay, you suck at this. I’ll just ask you instead” he determined, and before she could protest, he asked: “What’s your favorite flower?”

“Sunflower” she answered, again, without really thinking.

“Wow, I would never imagine that” he seemed excited “Well, I guess we can go see the movie. But let’s get popcorn first!”

“Two buttered popcorns” Raven passed Beast Boy with the wallet on her hands, putting the money on the counter “An ice tea and a Coke”

“Hey” Beast Boy protested, a little confused.

“You paid for tickets, I’ll pay the food” she commanded firmly “It’s only fair”

“… Okay, deal” he agreed, finding it funny. It was certainly an unusual date.

If it was, in fact, a date.

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	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Bubbles

August 15th 2009, 5:07 am

Michael arrived to the construction area annoyed. He had just graduated and he felt his co-workers – specially the constructors – didn’t really respect him. On the contrary, that they saw him as some kind of a joke.

That’s why he totally lost it when he put his helmet on and found all the employees just standing there.

“John!” he called firmly. The head of the constructors turned to him with no trace of intimidation.

“What is it chief?” he asked plainly.

“What exactly are you guys doing here?”

“Well… It looks like the project is finished” he shrugged “Although is a little bit different from the original design”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Michael walked to where the constructors were. Then he stopped, surprised.

The fountain was ready. Something very weird, because he had been there in the afternoon of the previous day and only half of the work was done. And the design was, indeed, very different. Instead of his initial project of three vertical fountains with the taller one in the middle, the steel beams were arranged in a big heart, with water running along all of its shape.

Michael didn’t really know what to feel. It was completely different from his plan. And it was beautiful.

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August 15th 2009, 9:03 am

Beast Boy woke up with a smile on his face. He took some seconds to remember why he was feeling so happy. The previous night had flew perfectly, even better than he had hoped. He laid staring at the ceiling. Now he could almost believe… At least have some hope… That Raven could return his feelings.

Was it only his imagination the fact that she blushed when he insisted to pay? Was the electric current that ran through his body when their hands touched only by his side? Did the fact that she tried hard to treat him like a normal person mean she was trying to make their friendship stronger or turn this friendship into something more?

He closed his eyes, feeling a chill to remember the end of the night. They watched the movie in silence and came back talking about the plot and in some minutes – at least that was what it felt for Beast Boy – they were back to the Tower. He walked her to her room’s door and found out he didn’t want to separate from her just yet. He was almost putting this on words when Raven turned to him and looked straight on his eyes. That look… It seemed to be staring to his vey soul, and there was a wonderful feeling about it. He was still vaguely hypnotized when she seemed to be a little embarrassed and closed the door in a hurry.

All he knew now was that he wanted to spend more time with her.

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Raven had woken up with similar feelings, three hours earlier. She made an effort to wipe the smile from her face, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the memories of the night before. It was so stupid, nothing happened. Well, maybe something. She blushed to remember the warm wave she felt when he touched her hand.

She remembered how his hand was warm and the contrast his green skin had made with her pale one and…

Waves…

She felt waves.

Did she feel?

It was only then she realized. She did something forbidden and didn’t even notice it! She had been in a public place, with people around her – although not that much – alone with someone she knew she had strong feelings for, and _felt_!

She dropped the hairbrush from her hand and ran to the hand mirror next to her bed. Some minutes later, she was in Nevermore.

This time, there was nothing gray at Wisdom’s Forest. She walked through the almost golden trees, hearing the pleasant noise of the dry leaves breaking under her hurry steps. In the middle of a clearing, she found Wisdom, floating with her legs crossed, eyes closed.

“Wisdom!” she called, anxious.

“Yes?” asked her clone, not opening her eyes.

“What… What happened yesterday?”

“Well, you were there, you tell me” she said, opening her eyes.

“What’s going on with you lately…?” she groaned “I couldn’t have gone yesterday, you should have told me…”

“Why shouldn’t you?” she interrupted her, still calm “Yesterday, all you could possibly think – and Timidity tell everyone – was that it wasn’t a date”

“And if it wasn’t a date” she added quickly, before Raven could argue “Why shouldn’t you go?”

Raven bit her bottom lip. Damn.

“But it was a… Situation where I’d be with the person I… like” she explained, but the emotion shrugged.

“You found out your feelings for Beast Boy months ago, and you still live with him without the world exploding, don’t you?”

“But that’s different! We were… Alone!” she said, distressed “I… I felt”

“Was it bad?”

“No, it was…” she stopped herself, blushing “The point is that it was dangerous. For me, for him, for the people around us”

“What remind me” she said suddenly “Why nothing happened?”

“Well…” she sighed and finally left her position, softly landing her feet on the ground full of leaves “Maybe it’s best to continue this conversation at Knowledge’s library…”

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“Good morning!” greeted Beast Boy to them all, entering the kitchen.

“Good morning, friend!”

“There you go cook this damn tofu again” teased Cyborg, his mouth full of ham.

“Yeah, tofu is great” said Beast Boy happily to everyone’s surprise, apparently not noticing the insult.

“You’re pretty happy today” observed Robin, lifting his eyes from his computer.

“Yeah, it’s a nice day” explained the changeling, putting the soy food on the pan.

They all looked to the window.

“It’s raining” informed Terra holding a spoon of cereal, like there was contradiction in Beast Boy’s words.

“Rain can be nice” he answered without turning. Terra and Cyborg looked at each other, like they thought the green friend had gone crazy.

“Where did you go last night, friend Beast Boy?” asked Starfire, who had finished her breakfast “When I ended the laundry of our clothes, I tried to call everyone to see the TV together, but you weren’t home”

“I went… ahn… to the arc…pizza” he gagged.

“Arc…pizza?” repeated Robin, suspicious.

“Yeah, it’s a… new machine at the arcade… where you play a game… about pizza” he explained, wishing to come up with a better excuse sooner. He didn’t want to tell anyone he had a date with Raven. It would lead to embarrassing questions. Considering her ex girlfriend was there too, it was just smarter to avoid the type of situation, at least at the time being.

“And you didn’t call me?” asked Cyborg, upset.

“I thought you were going out with Sarah” he said, and that was actually true. Sarah was a girl Cyborg was dating for some weeks now.

“No… She had to go take care of some kids…” he told.

“Well, we can go next time” he playfully punched the robot man’s shoulder. Then he added, trying to be casual: “So did you guys watch TV? All of you?”

“No… Since you and friend Terra were away, I gave up, I didn’t even bother friend Cyborg or friend Raven” said Starfire, but she sounded happy enough. That probably meant she got to spend some time alone with her boyfriend.

Beast Boy sighed. So they didn’t know Raven had gone out last night. That made things simpler.

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“But…” muttered Raven, not believing the words in front of her “… That means my powers did express themselves!”

“Yes” agreed Knowledge “But you guys were so absorbed you didn’t even notice…”

“Are you kidding me?” she closed the book suddenly “A heart-shaped fountain? Seriously?”

“That wasn’t what they told me it was gonna happen!” she continued, indignant “They said it would be explosions, destruction and pain!”

“Well Raven… As for that, I’m know just as much as you do” the emotion in the yellow cloak shrugged.

“Beast Boy… appears to have a calming effect on us” said Wisdom, with her index finger and her thumb on her chin. “You focus on him… And that doesn’t allow the energy to overflow in a destructive way”

“Of course… because at the end, the emotions aren’t that strong, right?” the two emotions looked at each other significantly, but Raven didn’t notice, lost in her thoughts “It was just as friends… Get to know each other as friends… Just like I spend time with Star, Cyborg or all of them together… There’s no danger”

A smile took shape at the empath’s mouth.

“I can be around him… Without danger…”

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That was how Saturday became a very expected day for both Beast Boy and Raven. The changeling spent all week trying to think of something for them to do together that could please both, and he found out it wasn’t so hard as he had imagined. It even became a fun thing to do – to go against his common sense, to do new things. After all, he had gone to the obvious places a million times with Terra, and he didn’t want to mix things. This way, they both found out that Jump City was bigger and more interesting than they had thought.

The next Friday, Beast Boy invited her to go to a fair of used books, CDs, DVDs and games at a neighborhood north of the city. She could have fun with books and he could find old movies and games that weren’t in normal stores anymore or too expensive in their new version. They went on Saturday afternoon, when the sun was setting and the sky was orange. There were more people than Beast Boy had expected, but Raven didn’t mind. She got really excited to find books that weren’t printed anymore and some rare editions of others, and both of them came back at night with full bags, after a quick stop to have some coffee.

The Friday after that, Beast Boy invited her to an event of alternative cinematography, on Sunday, since it was his week of doing laundry. This time, the event was really boring, and they went to an ice cream parlor nearby and spent the whole afternoon talking. Beast Boy asked her which topping she preferred in her ice cream and she said peanut crumbs. When she wasn’t looking, he poured a lot of it on her bowl and managed to pull out a small smile of the empath, even if after he had been punched by an astral fist.

Next Saturday was Raven’s turn to do laundry, so Beast Boy only accompany her to the laundry room and helped her, what gave them a good time of talking, although Raven kept saying he was getting on her way instead of helping. Some particularly lacy panties got mixed up with the uniforms, and he asked her if they were hers, getting a strong slap by an astral hand as an answer.

The next week, Beast Boy warned her to wear something comfy and that she wouldn’t mind getting dirt. Raven got a little hesitant, but went anyway, meeting him not a night, but extremely early, at 5 o’clock in the morning.

“Here, Rae!” called Beast Boy when she landed at a desert street, behind her “You look nice”

Raven looked down. She was wearing light pink sweatpants Starfire gave her and an old gray T-Shirt. Beast Boy wasn’t very different: he was wearing black tactel pants and a faded blue T-Shirt.

“What did we come here to do, anyway?” she asked, insecure “What is this place?”

“It’s the Jump City Kennel” he explained “They need help to take the dogs out for a walk. I come here at least once a month”

“Do you remember that time when Johnny got a real gigantic dog to attack people?”

She nodded, distracted, looking at the cages where the dogs barked or jumped, staring at them.

“And then, you calmed him down with your powers? Well, I thought maybe you could help with some of these dogs”

“Good morning, Beast Boy!” greeted a young girl with red hair “You came early today!”

“Hey, Lily!” he waved to her, smiling “This is my friend Raven. Rae, Lily takes care of the dogs and she supervises the walking”

“Nice to meet you, Raven” said the girl, eyes sparkling. She was clearly a Teen Titan fan. Raven nodded, a little embarrassed.

“So can we go see the dogs?”

“Yeah, they’re in the back, you know it” she pointed, and they both continued walking.

“The back is where the aggressive dogs are, Rae” he explained, and Raven noticed these dogs had scars, hostile looks and were in separated cages, unlike the previous dogs. “The official walking is actually a little later, there’re a lot of people, but these can’t go out, they’re too dangerous. I thought maybe you could try to calm them down so we could take them outside a bit…”

“I’ll try” said Raven, kneeling in front of one of the cages. She didn’t feel so good. Animals also emanated emotions, although they weren’t as complex as human’s. What she felt in this area was a big negativity. The closest to sadness as something could be.

“They were mistreated or used in fights” told Beast Boy, serious “They can’t trust humans anymore”

Raven looked deep inside the eyes of the dog in front of her. It was an American Pit Bull Terrier, and it started to growl when she approached her hand between bars. Beast Boy saw a black line coming out of Raven’s jewel in the forehead to inside the animal’s head. It kept staring for some seconds, teeth exposed. Then its expression lightened and she went to Raven’s hand, letting her pet its head.

“Wow, awesome!” he muttered, kneeling next to Raven and petting the dog. His fingers touched Raven’s and she retread her hand quickly.

“So, who else?”

Some minutes later, they were walking through the street in the dim light of the sun, Beast Boy with three anxious dogs on the collar pulling him and sniffing all they could, and Raven was taking only one, the first she calmed down, which was a female and was called Bubbles. She still was a little fearful and walked calmly and carefully.

“What you did was incredible, Raven!” said Beast Boy, when he managed to be next to the empath. “Thank you so much!”

“It’s not a big deal” Raven shrugged, surprised that she was actually enjoying this activity.

“So are you a dog person or a cat person?” he questioned, being dragged ahead of her.

“I’m more comfortable around cats” she answered loudly so he could hear her “But I don’t hate dogs, at least when they’re not trying to pull me down or filling my face with saliva”

“Oh, that’s right” he laughed, remembering the green dog that had passed by him some years ago “I really like both”

“Yeah, I thought so…” A car passed next to them and Bubbles hid behind Raven’s leg. She kneeled down and calmed her with low words.

“Hey, Raven?”

“What?”

“I noticed you used your powers to pick up… you know… Bubbles’s little presents…” he said, scratching the back of his neck “Could you help me with that?”

Raven raised her eyebrows, seeing that the three dogs had decided to go the ‘bathroom’.

“No way” she turned, so he couldn’t see she was smiling “One is responsible for the dogs one picked”

“Oh, man…”

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	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – About Clothes and Ice

September 17th 2009, 4:32 pm

Starfire was walking happily down the hall, towards her friend Raven’s room. She had a plan of meditating with her. She knew Raven for many years, and she knew that with the empath, it was giving that she would receive. She missed spending some time with her friend, and if she meditate with her for a couple of hours, it would be more likely for her to accept go to the mall or watching a TV show later.

Arriving to the door with the inscription ‘Raven’, she knocked lightly. For her surprise, the door opened quickly, as if the friend was waiting for her, or next to the door.

“Oh, hi, Starfire” she said, looking disappointed. Was she expecting somebody else?

“Hello friend Raven!” she greeted her with a big smile “I was wondering if we could meditate this afternoon, and then maybe we could go to the mall or paint our nails or…”

“I already meditated today, actually” she interrupted, looking distracted “But we can go to the mall. Now, if you want.”

Starfire’s mouth dropped and for a second she just stood there, surprised with her friend’s reaction. After the shock, she didn’t waste time – she could change her mind – and grabbed the empath’s hand, flying towards the exit.

“Wait, I need my wallet!”

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Beast Boy was especially excited. For the last two days, he had been preparing something very special. Related, of course, with his friend Raven. With the intention, of course, of changing this friendship into something more. It had been a month, and every time he went on a date with her, he had fun like he didn’t in a long time. He felt butterflies in his stomach, an electric current to her touch, the heat when they were too close.

And, after last Saturday, he was sure she felt something for him as well. He smiled and looked to the horizon, remembering.

_They had left the dogs in their cages and he realized Raven had some difficulty to separate from Bubbles, as she kept looking behind._

_“Don’t worry” he said, touching her shoulder “They have really good care here, she’s fine”_

_“She’s lonely…” she muttered, a sad expression on her face “With a lot of bad memories”_

_“I didn’t know you could read animal’s minds” he said, surprised._

_“I can only see some images and feel intentions…” she explained, and they were outside, the sun high in the blue sky “I don’t know, she kind of reminded me myself”_

_“What?” he turned, worried. She noticed and lightened her expression._

_“No… Not like that. It’s just, you know, living alone, scare and frightened, not understand what is happening around you” she said, looking at the sky “And how everything changed after I met the Titans”_

_“Yeah… We’ll always be here for you” he whispered, realizing how close to her he was._

_Raven looked up and he looked deep into her violet eyes, as if hypnotized. Without thinking, he leaned on, and their noses touched lightly. In that moment, however, his communicator started ringing, and until he turned it off – it was Cyborg wanting to know if he had been kidnapped – the moment was gone and she became a little cold, avoiding his eyes._

But that moment, he was sure she wished it to continue just as much as him. Now he was ready. Ready to tell her how he felt. Because, even if he was completely wrong about this, he had done all he could.

So he was preparing an extra special date. For that, he would use some super hero privileges.

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Raven was bored, next to a clothes rack, going through the hangers, not seeing anything of her interest. Starfire had already taken two dozen clothes to the dressing room and came out every five minutes to ask her if it was good.

She sighed and went to the next rack. Raven didn’t really like going to the mall, and even less buying clother, but after the four times she went out with Beast Boy, she realized her civil clothes were pretty much over. He had gone to her room earlier that day to ask her to go somewhere the next day again and, hesitantly, she said yes once again. So she needed new clothes.

“What do you think of this combination, friend Raven?” asked Starfire, coming out of the dressing room. She was wearing a black mini skirt and a whit long sleeves shirt.

“It’s great, Star” she answered honestly.

“Do you think it’s better or worse than the previous one?”

“Ahn… Better…?” Raven risked, not really remembering the friend’s last outfit.

“It’s your turn now, friend Raven!” she asked, excited “You haven’t tried a single one!”

“I still haven’t found anything I like” complained the empath.

“Let me pick some for you!” Starfire suggested.

“I don’t think so…” Raven almost laughed, imagining the kinds of clothes the Tamarean would pick for her.

“Please friend, I’m so much faster, just tell me what kind of clothes you want” she insisted.

“Well… Nothing low-cut or too short” she informed, sighing “I prefer blue, white or black”

“Friend Raven, what if we made… as you say in Earth… a deal?” Starfire said with an evil look in her beautiful face. Raven raised an eyebrow.

“What kind of deal?”

“If I find clothes you like” she started, her feet leaving the ground “Every three of them, you try on one I pick. Just try!”

Raven crossed her arms, suspicious. But it would be so easier to sit down and wait Starfire come back with selected clothes…

“Fine. We have a deal”

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“What’s up, BB!” greeted Cyborg, sitting on the couch next to his green friend, who was playing video games.

“Hey man” he answered, distracted.

“What are you playing?”

“Super Monkeys Special Adventure III”

“What? I thought they were out of line!” exclaimed the robot man, impressed “Where did you get this?”

“A used games fair” he explained, pausing the game.

“A fair…? Man, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Hm… You were going out with Sarah…” Beast Boy almost asked.

“That’s no excuse!” he argued “You’ve been out a lot by yourself on weekends lately… Weird…”

“Well…”

“But say Cyborg, you and this Sarah girl are dating for what? Two months?” commented Robin, approaching the friends “Is it getting serious?”

“I… I don’t know, man” muttered Cyborg, embarrassed.

“I would love to know the girl you’ve been realizing the dates, friend Cyborg!” said Starfire, suddenly coming from behind the couch, a bunch of bags in her hands.

“Yeah, that would be cool” agreed Robin, after kissing his girlfriend “How about Saturday? All of us, at the pizza place”

“How about Sunday?” asked Beast Boy, worried about his plans.

“Why?” questioned Robin, curious.

“Calm down guys, I have to check with her first!” Cyborg warned, getting nervous.

At least, Sarah would only be available the next week, and they agreed on Saturday night at the pizza place.

“Terra, book next week’s Saturday night” said Robin when the blonde entered the common room “We’ll meet Cyborg’s _girlfriend_!”

“Hey man!” yelled Cyborg, really nervous now.

“Hey Raven!” called Beast Boy, spotting the empath right after Terra.

“If it’s about Cyborg’s girlfriend, I’ve heard” she informed, in her usually bored voice.

“But on a serious subject” started Robin, getting up “Now that we’re all here, I want to let you know that tomorrow morning we’ll have a general practice, I want to see how you guys are doing”

“Morning like…?” asked Terra.

“6:30” to what a general moan followed.

“Boyfriend Robin, you are so serious about our performance” said Starfire, hugging him.

Beast Boy pretended to puke into his bowl of popcorn behind the couple, in a way only Raven could see him.

It was so unexpected that Raven, who had just taken her tea cup to her lips, choke, feeling the hot tea coming up her nose.

“Are you okay, Raven?” asked Cyborg when she started to coughed, to what she just nodded and waved so they wouldn’t worry. Beast Boy, however, knew how to recognize a laugh when he saw one.

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September 19th 2009, 9:10 pm

Raven landed softly on the asphalt of the corner where she agreed to meet Beast Boy. She was late some minutes, because for the first time, she got in doubt about what she would be wearing. She looked around. She was next to a square where some couples walked holding hands. She sat down on a bench, sighing.

Starfire had done a wonderful job, to her complete surprise. She barely had time to rest her feet when the Tamarean came back, flying with a little mountain of clothes in her arms. Mostly exactly what she had asked for. Annoyed, she had to keep her part of the deal and try on some of the clothes her friend picked. And, she hated to admit it, but some actually looked good on her.

In the end, she came back with a good bunch of bags. When she arrived in her room and unpacked them, she noticed she clothes enough for months going out. So she started thinking about it. What was this thing with Beast Boy? And what had happened when they left the kennel? That was dangerous. If his communicator hadn’t ring, she wouldn’t have had the time to concentrate her mind and something serious and dangerous could had happened.

“Raven!” called a voice, and the empath lifted her eyes. Beast Boy was running towards her and waving. He was wearing dark blue pants similar to his uniform and a long sleeve white shirt.

“Sorry I’m late” he said, stopping next to her and catching his breath “You’re very pretty”

Raven blushed intensely to this compliment and stared at her feet, trying hard not to let the emotions take the best of her. She was wearing black legging pants, blue shoes and a lilac blouse with delicate laces in her collar and sleeves, which went to her elbows. Of course it was Starfire’s choice.

“So, shall we?” he asked, and she nodded, following him.

“Rae? Are you okay?” he questioned after a while, leaning to see her face better.

“Yeah, I’m fine” she lied, still avoiding his look. In her mind, a dilemma was taking place. She felt like Affection was trying to squeeze herself through the tight opening she let for her powers, and Timidity was holding her by her cape, telling her it was not what she was thinking.

They walked in silence for some minutes, until Beast Boy stopped next to a metal door painted purple, went through his pocket and took off a little key. Raven put her dilemma aside for a moment and looked around while he unlocked the door.

“What is this place?” she asked, noticing the wall was plain and they were far from other buildings.

“Hm… It’s a surprise” he said, opening the door and indicating she should go inside. She hesitated with a suspicious look. “Come on Raven, after all this time I still haven’t gained your trust?”

Raven sighed and walked through the door. She was on at looked like the backstage of a theater, deepened in the dark, except for a light source some steps ahead. Beast Boy locked the door behind her and conducted her to the source of light, which was a gap between thick red velvet curtains.

Raven was so surprised with what she found that everything was wiped away from her mind. They had entered a huge ice rink. The chairs around it were empty, and dim green, blue and pink lights lightened the place.

“Beast Boy… What…”

“Here” he said, handing her a pair of ice skates. She wondered how he discovered her size without asking.

“I’ve never been here” she commented, taking the skates and watching as he put on his owns “Why is it so empty?”

“It’s Jump City’s ice rink” he explained, clumsily getting up “We saved this place from complete destruction once; it was an attack from HIVE. I asked the manager for this little favor and he was more than happy to attend it.”

“But…”

“Put on your skates!” he asked, going away “I’ll put on some music”

Raven blank and sat, taking off her shoes and putting on the skates.  When she was finishing tiding the laces, she heard a instrumental music playing, not loud enough to hurt her ears. She got up carefully, supporting herself on the close around the rink, and put a foot on the ice, easily sliding.

Beast Boy approached her, moving naturally. She concentrated on not falling, sliding without much impulse.

“Have you done this before?” he asked next to her.

“Just once” she answered, opening her arms to help her balance “I was little and the monastery’s lake froze… Ow!”

Raven’s left foot slid way ahead of the right one, and Beast Boy helped her, holding her right hand with his own and pulling her body with his left arm, involving her.

“Oops, careful there” he laughed “Are you okay?”

She nodded, blushing.

“Why did you bring me here?” she questioned, getting apart from him.

“You didn’t come with us some years ago because you said too many people would get in the way of your emotion balance” he told her, still holding her right hand “But I… I don’t know, I got the impression that you did want to skate. So this is easier, right? Just us”

Raven was spared of answering this question when they had to turn and Beast Boy almost hit the fence. She smiled and shook her head, going ahead without him, finding out that faster was actually easier.

“Hey, you’re good at that” he commented, catching up “I took some time to perfect my technique”

“Yes, I saw Cyborg’s videos” she informed, still paying attention to where she was going.

“Dude, he recorded that?!” he moaned, ashamed, since he had indeed fallen a lot.

“It’s kind of like flying” she said, feeling her hair float behind her.

“Yeah, and we don’t need to use our powers” he agreed, exceeding her. She raised an eyebrow and went faster too, until she was in the lead again.

“Come on Rae, you don’t wanna race me” he warned, sliding backwards, until he tripped and almost fell.

“Very elegant, Beast Boy” she said, rolling her eyes. “How did you know I like this song?”

“I… didn’t actually!” he answered, waving his arms to keep standing “I’m glad you like it!”

The lights suddenly got dimmer and there was only one blue spotlight in the rink’s center. Raven turned and slid carefully to the fence, stopping for a second. She heard the changeling approaching and stopping next to her.

“Raven, I have something to tell you”

The empath lifted her head and found her friend’s eyes, that were staring at hers like they were the only thing that mattered. She remained silent and found out that, deep down, she was waiting for this moment ever since the first time he asked her out. He whispered next to her ear the three words she longed for so much and yet was sure would never hear from her green skinned teammate.

She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling Beast Boy’s warm breath getting closer, and lifted her head slightly to receive his lips on hers.

Never before Raven felt something like what she was feeling in that moment. Beast Boy’s hands involved her neck and she grabbed his arms, bringing him closer. In that moment, in that ice rink, nothing else existed beside the both of them, linked, balancing in their skates on the slipping ground, with nothing but each other as support.

And her biggest wish was that this moment never ended, that she never had to separate her lips from his and looked into his eyes and lie, and say she didn’t reciprocate his feeling so she could spare both and the rest of the world of a constant danger situation.

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	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Chance

September 20th 2009, 3:13 pm

“Beast Boy?”

The changeling turned slowly, finding his best friend’s eyes.

“What?”

“I’m calling you for like forever! Where was your mind at?”

“Nowhere” he answered quickly “Just… Letting it wander”

“Well… It’s your turn” informed Terra, throwing him a control. He sighed and started his battle against Cyborg, without really caring. He accepted to play video games to try and empty his mind, filled with last night’s memories and very anxious.

_“I like you” he said, next to her ear, the lavender and incense scent filling his nostrils and inebriating him. He couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned his head and she lifted hers, in a perfect synchronized move._

_When his lips touched hers, he felt an explosion of emotions like never before. His chest expanded and a warm sensation spread all over his body. He led his hands to her delicate neck and felt her tremble and hold his arms firmly, like she was afraid they went away._

_“Raven” he said, interrupting the kiss, but still close to her face and holding her hands “Be my girlfriend”_

_The empath stared at him, and he knew there was something in her eyes, but her face showed him sadness._

_“Beast Boy…” he had the feeling she was going to say something bad, so he kissed her again._

_“You can think if you want” he mumbled, leaving her lips again. She bit her lip and nodded. She got away from him, sliding out of his reach, and before he could say or do anything, she was already gone. After some instants just standing there, disappointed, he realized that for some reason all of the spotlights were on and pointing at him._

He hadn’t seen Raven all day, had barely slept at all and felt a weight in his belly that stopped him from eating too much. He was sure now that the empath felt something for him. If not, she would have sent him away for kissing her. The fact of not only letting him, but kissing him back was a proof that she reciprocate his feelings.  But he still was afraid of being rejected.

That was when the alarm started to ring.

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Raven hadn’t slept. Since she came back from the ice rink, she was in a serious emotion instability. She would lay on her bed, close her eyes, and all she would get was relive that moment, hear Beast Boy’s voice in her ears and her lips tingled to remember the kiss they shared. So she would feel guilty for letting it go this far, to then try to think how to tell the changeling gently that no, she would not be his girlfriend. Her mind focused in his beautiful emerald eyes and she remembered the kiss, and it would start all over again.

She didn’t want to go to Nevermore, because she knew Affection and Happiness would be nagging her to accept it. When the last book went flying out of her bookcase, however, she decided that going inside her mind was the most appropriate thing to do.

Then the _damn_ alarm started ringing.

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September 20th 2009, 3:35 pm

“Doctor Light?!” questioned Cyborg, a little disappointed “You again?”

“Yes, it is me, Titans!” exclaimed the villain, from the top of a covered in glass mirror building. All the team let out a depressed moan.

“Girls, let’s go up!” ordered Robin, pointing towards the building. Starfire and Raven flew ahead and the rest of the group came up right behind in a big piece of floating earth.

“You really are bad at learning with your mistakes” said Raven, with black energy discs on her hands. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Dr Light. However, her discs were repelled by the villain’s shining armor and disappeared.

“I’m ready for you this time, witch!” he answered, arrogant. Before she could do anything, Starfire threw a rain of green lasers at the man.

“Nice job, Star!” complimented Robin, arriving to the scene. When the dust settled, Dr Light raised himself, and this time his armor reflected a green light, that hit everyone, knocking them down to the ground.

A million little rocks threw themselves in the villain’s direction, but he disintegrated them with a ray of light that came out of his right fist. Cyborg got up and shot his sonic blast, but Dr Light’s armor merely reflected the blue light and hit the robot man, who fell from the building.

“Cyborg!” yelled Terra and Starfire, running to help.

Meanwhile, Robin, Raven and Beast Boy were already on their feet and attacking. The boy wonder threw five birdarangs at the same time the changeling attacked in the form of a bear. Dr Light turned the birdarangs to dust with the shining ray of his right fist and directed a light beam to the green bear’s eyes, which screamed with pain and put the paws on his eyes, turning blind. The villain prepared to push the bear off the building, but was stopped by a black tentacle.

“I think you need another scare” said Raven in her usual tone of voice. Dr Light started to scream, and Robin ran off to help Beast Boy.

If Raven wasn’t going through such stress in the last eighteen hours, or if she had slept even a little bit, she probably would have noticed. But she was tired, with a dilemma eroding her mind and sleep deprived. So she didn’t notice it.

Dr Light screamed, but the desperation didn’t reach his eyes. He waited until he was pretty close and pushed the hug button on his armor’s chest. All the sunlight the building reflected was transferred to it, which started to shine in an incredible intensity.

Raven was thrown back, her eyes hurt and not being able to see nothing besides a shining white light. Putting the arm in front of her eyes, she managed to see the shape of a man pointing something at her. Then, a bunch of green fur blocked her vision.

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When Beast Boy was hit by the light, he felt a piercing pain in his eyes and covered them by instinct, bellowing and walking without direction. He felt two hands stop him and went back to his original form, massaging the hurt eyes.

His vision was coming back when he heard Raven’s voice. He turned, and then Robin yelled and pushed him to the ground. Something extremely bright was in the building with them.

The changeling lifted his head, trying to block most of the light with his hand, and saw Raven laying on the floor and Dr Light approaching her with one of the weapons on his fist pointed at her. He turned into a snake and slid to the girl, putting himself in front of her and turning into the Beast in the exact moment Dr Light activated his cannon.

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Fortunately to everyone in that building, as soon as Cyborg was saved by the girls from a considerable fall, he started to pay attention to what Dr Light was up to with that armor.

The cybernetic man managed to deduce what the cables that linked the building to the villain’s armor and find out how they worked as the other ones fought. He was delayed when Dr Light activated the button on his armor’s chest, but before he could liberate all the energy, Cyborg was almost turning the device off.

That’s why Beast Boy received less than half of what he would if Dr Light shot in total power rating. After examining him, Cyborg assured a tearful Raven that he would be awake and fine the next day.

Robin, Starfire and Terra took Dr Light to jail, who unfortunately didn’t projected the armor that well and ended up being hit by part of the energy destined to his target, and was currently passed out and no longer a threat.

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September 21st 2009, 5:15 am

Beast Boy took his time to wake up, not really knowing where he was or any specific memories. He saw a white ceiling and got confused. Then the image became more distinct and he recognized the Tower’s infirmary.

“Beast Boy?” called a low voice, and he turned to the side, finding Raven standing next to his bed, looking desolated.

“Hey Rae” he tried to smile, but it ended up as a pain grimace, and the empath’s small hands delicately pushed him back to bed when he tried to stand up.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, looking worried.

“A little sore” he said, then he suddenly remembered something far more important “Did you think?”

“Beast Boy!” she sighed, exasperated “Is that what you’re thinking about now? You got really hurt!”

“I guess…” he reminded the fight as some distant memory “So, do you have an answer yet?”

Raven looked at him with the saddest expression he had seen. He put out with the pain and sat on the bed, staring at her properly.

“You know very well my answer” she muttered, not looking at him. The changeling knew that wasn’t a good sign, but decided to risk.

“Yes?” to that, he received only a disapproval look.

“I cannot date, Beast Boy” she said firmly “This kind of relationship involves a big amount of emotions and that is not allowed for me”

“Why?” he asked stubbornly.

“Beast Boy, you know me for six years!” she reminded him, running her fingers through her hair. “You know emotions make my powers release and the energy causes destruction.”

They remained silent for some minutes, Beast Boy with a serious expression.

“So you don’t like me” he said, looking at his own hands.

“No!” Raven almost yelled without thinking, then covered her mouth with her hand “That is not the point.”

“You don’t have to hide behind your powers to dump me Raven” he informed her calmly “If you don’t like me, you just don’t”

“Why are you being like this?” she asked through teeth, frustrated. She didn’t know why she cared, anyway. It would be easier to just agree with him.

“We’ve going out for a month” he shrugged “I suppose if during this time nothing exploded and no one was eaten by some other dimension monster, is because you have no feeling for me”

“That was different” she argued “We went out as friends”

“How is that different?” he questioned, opening his arms “I like you. I felt emotions every time I was around you, especially alone”

Raven had no answer to that. She opened her mouth, but had no words.

“Every time I touched your hand, I felt this electric thing through my arm” he continued very serious “Or when you laughed, I felt like super happy. And every time you were wearing something different, my heart would race. When you looked embarrassed, I wanted to hold you and not let you go”

“Beast Boy…” she whined, as if begging for him to stop. She felt his hand touching hers.

“Did you? Do you feel this?” he asked, taking her hand to his lips and kissing it.

“Of course I do” she replied, in verge of tears.

“Nothing exploded Raven” he informed smiling “We’re still here”

“We are” she agreed, frowning. Then she shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “Even if we can deal with this, Beast Boy… You won’t want me as your girlfriend”

“I think I told you I do the other night!”

“Beast Boy, I can never be like you” she insisted “I don’t laugh nor tell jokes and I can’t accompany you to places too crowded…”

“Why do you think I planned our dates so carefully?”

“Is that really what you want, Beast Boy? To plan everything in the minimal details for ever, constantly be so careful because you have a girlfriend that can blow up everything at any moment?”

“I don’t care about any of that; I just want to be with you! My best friends are yours too, who cares about anyone else?”

“I’m not what you’re used to, Beast Boy! I can never be like Terra” Raven regretted her words the moment they left her lips. For the first time in this conversation, Beast Boy looked really annoyed. He opened his mouth, closed it again and took a deep breath.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Raven,” he said dryly “Dating a girl ‘like Terra’ didn’t really worked out for me”

“Sure… Sorry” she mumbled, embarrassed. The changeling’s expression got softer.

“It’s okay. Raven…” he called, and she looked at him “Give me a chance. Despite all you’re saying, you gave other people a chance before…”

She moved, uncomfortable, remembering Malchior.

“…And, despite everything, I think you gave me a chance a month ago when I show up at your door and asked you out. And I think… I didn’t screw it up…”

She shook her head. He had done perfectly.

“So… So give me a chance of making you happy. I feel you’re the right girl for me, and I want to try my best to be the right guy for you. I never felt like this about anyone before. _Anyone_.” He emphasized, before she could ask “And I _know_ , cause I know you, you would never break my heart.”

Raven smiled lightly, reminding about Affection and her green sunflowers. She ran her fingers through her hair and expire all the air off her lungs. When she inspired again, she had a decided expression on her face.

“Oh, Azar… How are we gonna tell this to the others?”

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	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – News

September 22nd 2009, 2:18 pm

“Hi, Terra. Can I talk to you?”

Terra turned to the source of the voice, finding Beast Boy. She was at the Tower’s sport court, practicing by herself with a volley ball.

“Hm… Okay” she agreed, bouncing the ball on the ground and walking to him. It was the first time she was alone with the changeling since the conversation that lead them to the end of the relationship. He had an awkward smile and seemed nervous. Suddenly, she felt a squeeze in her chest, realizing what this talk was about. Beast Boy probably wanted to give the relationship another try.

“What do want to talk about?” she asked, spinning the ball in her hands. Should she take him back?

“That’s… A little weird, but…” he started, scratching the back of his neck, something he did when he was uncomfortable.

Terra had to admit she was having a lot of fun being single. But maybe, under some conditions…

“I wanted to tell you I’m seeing someone”

The ball fell to the ground with a soft _thump_ , and Terra raised her eyebrows, surprised.

“Really?”

“Yeah… I’ll tell everyone on Saturday, when we go to the pizza place, but I thought it would be better to tell you first, you know, alone…” he explained “So there’s no… Embarrassing moment”

“Pff… We’ve broken up for six months, Beast Boy” she said, diverting her look “Why did you think that would bother me so much that I would freak out in front of people or something?”

“Cause… I’m dating Raven”

Silence.

“Excuse me?” Terra muttered through her teeth, fists closed, hair starting to flow “Raven?”

“Well… Yes” Beast Boy gave his best not to look terrified of his ex-girlfriend “So, I just wanted to let you know, that’s all.”

Suddenly, Terra sighed, closed her eyes, and when she faced Beast Boy again, she had a soft expression and a big smile on her face.

“That’s great! I’m so happy for you guys!” she exclaimed, emphasizing the word ‘happy’.

“Good!” agreed Beast Boy, even more scared with this sudden change of behavior “So… I’ll see you!”

Terra followed her ex-boyfriend with the eyes, picking up the white ball with a weird smile. Poor Raven. But that’s okay. If BB was up to a little game, that’s exactly what he would get.

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September 26th 2009, 7:05 pm

“It is wonderful to meet you, friend Sarah!”

The six Titans were at their usual pizza place, this time with a beautiful girl with blond curly hair and a gentle expression, sitting next to Cyborg and apparently a little nervous.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked laughing “I can’t believe I’m meeting all the Titans like that”

“You can relax, we’re really normal people” assured Robin with a smile, serving a cup of mustard to his girlfriend.

“If they bother you, we can leave” informed Cyborg without any regard.

“Dude, what is she going to think of us?” protested Beast Boy, but Sarah only laughed.

Everything ran fine in the first hour, the pizzas arrived and everyone started to eat and talk about normal stuff. However, just when Sarah was getting used to them, the awkward moment began. Basically, Starfire was bombing her with personal and invasive questions at the same time Robin decided to check if she wasn’t a spy.

“I found these Earth underwear really peculiar, you know, the one they call… ‘thong’… I mean, in my planet, if you wear something like this you don’t put anything on top of it… Do you wear it?”

“So you work with disable kids, huh? Hmm… Have you ever contacted a man named Mr Chang?”

“I couldn’t help to notice you have a bountiful bust, the gravity of this planet doesn’t really help us, does it? I mean, sometimes they get heavy when we ran or dance…”

“Are you sure you’ve never been involved in any of the city attacks? Just passing by or something like that… If I check your record, won’t I find anything?”

Cyborg was so shocked by the friend’s behavior he couldn’t even articulate his mouth to tell them to shut up. Terra was enjoying the show, since she already had passed on similar situations, and Sarah wasn’t able to answer any of the questions, because they interrupt one another before she could say anything.

Beast Boy and Raven, on the other hand, looked at each other with a significant expression. This was the moment they were waiting for. They had decided to tell their news when the all the team was together, and saw in that occasion a good opportunity to save Sarah from this moment.

“Robin, Star, everybody” said Beast Boy getting up “I have an announcement to make!”

They all turn to him, Sarah with a expression of relief and gratitude, Terra interest and the others, curiosity.

“Raven and I…” he started, putting the hand on the empath’s shoulder, who had a seat by his side “… are dating”

“Who’s dating?” asked Robin with a frown after some seconds of silence.

“Me and Raven” the changeling repeated, pointing at them both with his hand.

“You and Raven what?” questioned Cyborg with an honest confused expression.

“We are dating. Me and Raven are together, dating” he explained again, with a little annoyance in his voice.

“Do you mean, like a couple? Like me and boyfriend Robin? Like Cyborg and new friend Sarah?” asked Starfire, raising her hand.

“Yes!” he confirmed, happy someone had understood. To his surprise, however, all faces turned to Raven, inquired. She sighed and got up.

“It’s true” she said, seeming a little embarrassed.

“That… Is… GLORIUS!” exclaimed Starfire, floating above her chair and clapping. “Congratulations friends! I wish you a nice and long lasting relationship, and I’m certain you can make each other very happy!”

The Tamaranean pulled them both to a crashing hug and only released them when Beast Boy started to turn purple.

“Friends! Why aren’t you reacting?” she turned to the other on the table “This is a cause for celebration!”

Robin and Cyborg, however, had a very visible reaction. They both seemed to control themselves not to laugh. Then they looked at each other and started to laugh loudly.

“Well…” muttered Sarah, a bit uncertain “Congratulations, I…”

“No, no! No, Sarah!” warned the robot man, holding her arm and grasping for breath “They’re only messing with you, ‘cause you’re new!”

“Hmm, I don’t think so” she disagreed, observing Raven’s serious expression and Beast Boy’s offended one.

“But I have to know, Beast Boy” asked Robin, wiping some tears away from his mask “How did you talk Raven into this?”

“You guys suck!” he answered, angry.

“Well, if you won’t believe it, there’s nothing I can do” said Raven, sitting down again and pulling Beast Boy as well. Her look found Terra’s quickly, and she thought she saw resentment and bitterness in them. The next moment, however, the colleague’s blue eyes were turned to the two laughing idiots.

“Raven and BB together…” Cyborg shook his head “That is a good one…”

That’s when, with no warn whatsoever, Beast Boy pulled Raven by her arm and kissed her. The empathy was surprised, but let it go on for some seconds. When they separated, they found Star with eyes so sparkly it was almost like she was letting her lasers out, Sarah with a sweet expression, Terra looking like she had just been slapped and Robin and Cyborg with their mouths wide open.

“That’s better!” said Beast Boy, helping himself of some pizza.

It took some time, but finally Robin accepted the fact and congratulated the new couple. While Cyborg wondered how in the hell that had happened right under his nose, however, the leader was deep in thought. Beast Boy was now with Raven and his ex-girlfriend in the same team. _His_ team. Although Terra was acting perfectly happy and relaxed, he knew it couldn’t be easy on her.

Now it remained the question: would this new relationship affect the team or any of the members individually? He would have to wait and see. And watch closely, so he wouldn’t be caught out of guard in the middle of a battle.

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Terra was finding it all very funny. Clearly, Beast Boy was trying to get back on her by dating Raven. She didn’t even seem happy about their so-called relationship.

When he kissed her in front of everyone, however, it was going a little too far. She felt a heat like melted lava spreading on her stomach and a hug will of throwing a rock on them. But she controlled herself. It was, naturally, part of the acting.

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	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Save It For a Rainy Day

October 22nd 2009, 4:32 pm

Raven had just picked her purse up and opened the door when she found Beast Boy with his fist raised, ready to knock.

“Hi!” he greeted her with a smile.

“Hey… What are you doing here?” she asked, confused “I thought you were going out Cyborg today”

“I was… But he cancelled on me because of the T-Car…” he answered, his ears lowering “Then I thought we could spend some time together”

“Sorry, I’m going to the coffee place” she informed, closing the door behind her “It’s been a while since I went there”

“Oh…” Beast Boy’s ears lowered even more. He did not like that place… He considered go play some video games, until he remembered Raven’s vampire ex-boyfriend also attended to that coffeehouse.

“Raven!” he yelled, following her to the elevator.

“What is it?”

“Can I go with you?”

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November 4th 2009, 6:09 pm

“What is this about?” questioned Raven, sitting on the couch with her legs crossed.

“It’s an awesome series about the guy who’s chasing the ‘man in black’ in a post apocalyptic world!” told Beast Boy, sitting next to her with a popcorn bowl. “Sounds cool, huh?”

“… It does” replied the empath, trying her best not to sound sarcastic “Well, we agreed on an episode a week, right?”

“Yeah! 40 minutes, so you won’t find as tiresome as a movie” he confirmed, talking with his mouth full.

“Yes, and you can read a short story, which is not as tiresome as a book” she complemented, making sure he would remember his part of the deal they made after a discussion they had about not having anything in common.

“OK” he muttered, his mouth already full of popcorn again “Can we see it?”

“Yeah, go ahead” she said, rolling her eyes.

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October 22nd 2009, 5:34 pm

“Dude… This sucks…” whined Beast Boy, almost sleeping.

“I told you not to come!” argued Raven, giving him an annoyed stare “I don’t know what gave into you so you’d want to come…”

“I just wanted to do things you like and be near you” lied the changeling, looking at where Stan was sitting with the corner of the eye.

“Right…” she muttered, sipping her tea “Be quiet now, I really like this girl’s poems…”

Beast Boy rolled his eyes and ate a piece of the pie he ordered. At least this was good. He just couldn’t understand how Raven appreciated these people reciting weird poems that didn’t even rhyme.

“Boring…” he said quietly when the girl finished. Raven turned to him, seeming angry.

“It’s easy for you to criticize from there” she replied with a contempt look “Getting up there and declaim takes a lot from these people, did you know that?”

“It takes me a lot to get up and sing at the karaoke!” he argued, offended.

“Please! When you sing at the karaoke you don’t show anything from yourself other than the voice” she stated “In here, you write yourself, it comes from inside”

“So what, did it ever occur to you that I might pick a song to which I identify?” he asked, sitting straight “Besides, I can totally write some poem and recite if I want to!”

“Do you really?” she found this extremely fun “Then go there!”

“You say this, but you don’t get up anywhere, huh?” he accused her, and she turned red “So how about this: I compromise to write a poem and come to recite it if you sing at the karaoke!”

Raven bit her lip, thinking. It would be so funny to see Beast Boy in that position, but on the other hand, she would have to do what she hated most: expose herself. But she couldn’t use this argument, since she had just said that at the karaoke you didn’t really expose yourself.

“You have to be completely on character!” she determined.

“Fine! I’ll choose the song you’ll sing!” he extended his right hand to her. She looked at it for a few seconds then took it in her own.

“Deal”

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“Hey BB, do you wanna…?” started Cyborg, entering the common room and speaking loudly, until a band of black aura covered his mouth. He looked around, confused, and found Raven’s reproaching look.

“Shh!” she ordered, putting her index finger on her lips. Cyborg nodded and the band was gone. The cybernetic man followed her look and saw something that almost made him reset:

Beast Boy, sitting on the corner of the couch, his legs folded till his chin and the nose stick inside a book. A _book_!

Suddenly, he closed the book and looked at Raven with a surprised expression.

“Duuude!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide open. The empath smiled and approached him.

“Right?” she asked, talking about something Cyborg didn’t know, probably about the book.

“It was awesome, I would never imagine he was the assassin!” he said, leaning in excitement “And that time when the detective holds him against the wall and take the poker to defend himself…”

The changeling started to fight with an imaginary sword, dancing in the middle of the room.

“I’m glad you liked it” declared Raven, and she did seem pretty satisfied “What did you think when…”

Cyborg decided to exit the room. Since these two started to date, things were getting way too weird for his taste…

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November 11th 2009, 5:23 pm

“Why are you guys here again?”

Raven was sitting at her usual table at the coffeehouse she liked, with a white mug in her hands and surrounded by her friends. Their colorful clothes and happy mood were calling everybody’s attention.

“Look at Raven, wanting all the fun for herself!” exclaimed Cyborg, with his arm ready to film everything when Beast Boy went up the stage.

“This is going to be hilarious” commented Robin, with an arm around Starfire, who also seemed anxious.

“I really want to see what kind of things friend Beast Boy wrote” she said, drinking a glass of orange juice, since they didn’t have mustard for her “He spent day in his room doing this!”

“Yeah, it’ll be interesting…” Terra complemented, a mocking smile on her face.

“Shh, it’s starting! Everybody shut up!’

Silence fell in the room, and a young man got up the little stage at the corner. He wore pants, a black hoodie and a black cap covering his head. They could only see his green pale face, which had an anguish expression.

“Man…” muttered Cyborg “Did BB put on eyeliner?”

Raven was in shock. She was sure Beast Boy would show up in his regular clothes and had the hope that she could use this as the argument for him not being completely on character to get rid of singing at the karaoke. The man started to declaim a text about instability and that compared emotions to different kind of animals.

Silence fell again to the changeling’s last words. He came down from the stage and joined his friends, taking off his cap and being teased by Robin, Cyborg and Terra. Starfire congratulated him once the laughs stopped.

“So? Was that on character enough for you?” he asked, putting his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders. Raven sighed.

“Yes. It was good, I have to admit it” she said, with a miserable expression.

“Cool!” he yelled, raising his arms “You know what that means, Cy?”

“Sure! My camera will be ready for our next night at the karaoke!”

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January 7th 2010, 8:13 pm

Beast Boy noticed the popcorn was over and continued to drink his extra big soda. Next to him, Raven held a cup of ice tea on her hands, but didn’t drink it for some time already. He looked to check if she was still awake. She was awake and her eyes never left the screen. The Tower was empty. Starfire and Robin had gone out, Cyborg went to see Sarah and he hadn’t heard from Terra.

He looked right into Raven’s pretty face, her delicate features, her lips parted… Then he slid his arm behind her shoulders and kissed her lightly on her neck. She turned, gave him a faint smile and looked back to the TV. He felt encouraged and snuggled next to her, kissing her shoulder and going up until her ear.

Then he was lightly pushed away, the empath still with her eyes on the TV. He sighed, a little frustrated, and turned his attention back to the episode.

The gunslinger continued his way through the desert after the cross fire from which he came out safe. When the man in black was sighted, a dramatic music started to play and the credits started to rise.

‘About time’ he thought, opening a smile. It was about now that Raven cuddle with him and they could have some alone time…

However, turning to his girlfriend, he found her with a disappointed expression.

“Raven? Is there a problem?”

“Hmm, no” she answered, diverting her look “It’s pretty early, isn’t it? Why don’t we… see another one?”

Beast Boy forgot his second intentions for a minute, sat straight on the couch and stared at the empath, who was trying to maintain a casual expression.

“I thought more than 40 minutes was _too much_ TV time to you” he commented, holding his laugh.

“Well, I… It’s just that this last episode ended a little abruptly, and I’d like to feel like it had really ended” she tried to explain.

“You like TV!” he yelled, with a smile of triumph “You like TV, you like TV…”

“Whatever, I like this specific series” she admitted annoyed “Now, can we see the next one?”

“We can’t, sorry” he informed, finishing his soda “The next one will be aired only next week”

“No!” All the DVDs jumped from their shelf and were spread on the room.

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November 29th 2009, 9:19 pm

“I don’t see why I have to do this” complained Raven with her arms crossed.

“Come on, Rae, we came on Monday, the emptiest day of the week!” argued Beast Boy “You wouldn’t want to sing on Friday or Saturday…”

“I still…” she started, but Beast Boy interrupted her, touching his nose on hers.

“We had a deal” he said simply. She snorted.

“What song did you choose?” she asked, fearful.

“Don’t worry, it’s a really easy, quick song” he assured her with a smile “I wanted to show it to you for some time…”

“Really?”

“Really. I’ll sing with you. I’ll be your background voice” he told her like it was some big deal. Raven let a small smile escape, shaking her head. She should know he wouldn’t abadon her in this situation.

“It’s your turn, Raven…” teased Cyborg, with his arm camera ready just like it was at the coffeehouse.

“Let’s get this over with” she determined, picking her boyfriend’s hand and going up the stage.

They sang ‘Save it for a rainy day’, with Beast Boy singing ‘so sad…’ on the background while he did stupid poses, which let Raven feeling more comfortable, after all, she couldn’t look so stupid next to that.

“Yes! Thanks, Rae!” yelled Beast Boy, excited as they leave the stage “Remember this day when you’re sad”

“Whatever…” she mumbled, trying to look indifferent, although her still reddish face gave her away. Then Beast Boy hugged her and she said, quietly as only he could hear it: “Thank you”

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Terra decided to enter the game and got herself a boyfriend too. She made sure to display him everywhere and kiss him without inhibitions whenever they were near Beast Boy and Raven. In fact, she took him to the karaoke the night she knew the empath would sing. She knew that Beast Boy would realize how ridiculous this was and that he couldn’t keep dating her, not even just for fun, when she wasn’t able to loosen herself on stage next to him.

To her surprise, however, she noticed Beast Boy barely looked at her, and was completely indifferent to her new relationship. He even asked Dean to sing with him when Cyborg and Robin refused later that night.

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January 31st 2010, 6:10 am

“Beast Boy? Are you okay?”

The changeling turned to the voice with a smile. It was a cold and dim morning, and they were once more walking on a street surrounded by trees with golden leaves, he being dragged by three dogs and she walking calmly with her well behaved Bubbles. They’ve been doing this every Saturday morning for some months now.

“You’re not talking much” she repeated, a little worried.

“I was just thinking… You know, I think I’ve never been this happy”

Raven’s look got softer and she gave him a warm smile. Those were only for him. The dogs got quiet for a minute and he approached her, leaning his forehead against hers.

“I love you” he said, staring into her violet eyes. The empath breathed and the dogs barked at some leaves that started to move with no wind to push them. Raven noticed that, but before she could say anything, her boyfriend gently put his finger on her lips.

“You don’t have to say anything right now” he assured her, kissed her and walked away, taking the dogs.

Raven sighed and kneeled next to Bubbles, petting her head. In fact, she had never been so happy before.

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	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Sunflowers

February 1st 2010, 5:23 pm

“Why couldn’t I tell him?”

Raven once again was at Knowledge’s Library in Nevermore. The emotion in the yellow cloak was organizing some books in their shelf.

“Why couldn’t I say…? You know”

“Same reason as always, Raven…” she answered with a bit of impatience. “You saw the leaves moving and got scared that telling him ‘I love you’…”

She shivered, feeling butterflies in the stomach and chills on her arms to the mention of the unsaid words.

“… Would cause something worse”

Raven sighed, frustrated with the emotion and herself, looking around. Then she spotted an object that didn’t ordinarily belong in the library.

“What’s this?” she pointed to the little orange flower vase, where a green sunflower stood alone.

“Hmm?” Knowledge turned and smiled to see the flower “Oh, that. Affection gave one of these to each one of us after you officially accepted to be Beast Boy’s girlfriend.”

She got speechless and looked at the flower again, noticing that around it were gardening tools and a yellow watering can.

“Are you taking care of it?”

“Naturally. We all are” Knowledge approached her and took the vase, taking it closer to the window. “A relationship is something that needs constant cares, Raven. Like this flower. It can’t come from only one part of your mind. You have to deliver completely if you want it to be healthy and to endure.”

“Trim what it needs to be trimmed, water it every day – but not too much. Timidity almost drowned hers the first week” she told, organizing the little tools in a line “Take it to the sun when she needs it and take it back when it’s too hot, fertilize it, and change vases as it grows.”

“And sometimes” she continued after some seconds “… Talk to it”

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February 5th 2010, 3:40 pm

Beast Boy was at his room, lying on the ground, trying to reach a piece of clothing he had no idea how had went so deep down his dresser, when he heard light knocks on the door.

“Hmm…” he tried to turn, but was so close to reach the clothe he gave up “Come in!”

“Beast Boy?” called a soft voice he knew well “Well, I was hoping to see more of you’re the top part of your body”

“Wait, I did it!” he exclaimed and pulled the clothe, getting up. Then he realized he was holding a dirty underwear in front of his girlfriend. He yelled not very manly and stuffed it behind the closet before she could say anything “What’s up, gorgeous?”

She blushed, as she always did when he called her that in such a casual tone.

“Not much… I thought we could talk” she said, sitting without ceremony on the bottom of his bunk bed, after removing an empty snack packing of it.

“Did something happen?” he asked, worried.

“No… I just want to talk to you” she said simply, with a totally innocent expression “You know, without doing anything special.”

“Well… Sure, okay” he turned into a gorilla and pushed all his things off the bed, leaving only the sheet covering it, which was clean enough. Then he turned back into human and sat across from her.

“How should we start?”

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February 6th 2010, 9:13 am

“Beast Boy! Hey Grass Stain!” yelled Cyborg, knocking heavily on the changeling’s door. He heard a kind of movement inside the room, paces and after some seconds, the young man opened the door.

“What do you want, Cyborg?” to the cybernetic man’s surprise, even though Beast Boy was annoyed, it didn’t look like he had just woke up. He was still in the same clothes he was wearing the previous day and seemed pretty awake.

“Do you recognize this?” he asked, putting a sock in front of him.

“Ugh!” his best friend groaned, covering his nose “It’s a dirty sock! What are you getting at?”

“I getting to the fact that last night was your laundry night, but this morning we discovered that everything is at the same place we left!”

“Oh, that’s right! I completely forgot about the laundry!” the changeling said, and he seemed honest.

“Well, you…”

“That was my fault, Cyborg” came a voice from behind the door, and it finished opening, revealing Raven, who was dressed and also looked like she hadn’t slept “I came here and distracted Beast Boy. We’ll do it right away”

Then she pulled her boyfriend by hand and walked quickly towards the laundry room, before the robot man could recover from the shock.

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March 3rd 2010, 5:32 pm

Terra was sitting in her room on the little coach and surfing the internet. She felt a kind of hollow in her chest. The previous night she had broken up with her boyfriend, after come weeks of being ignored by Beast Boy. She didn’t know really what upset her the most.

She stuck her hand inside a snack packing and was taking a chip to her lips when someone knocked on her door.

“Friend Terra?” called a feminine voice, and she got up with a sigh.

“Hey, Star” she greeted, opening the door.

“Hello, friend” said the Tamaranean, seeming hesitant and with a different expression “I heard that… You and your boyfriend broke up…”

“Yeah, I kicked him, it wasn’t going well” she shrugged, as she didn’t really care.

“Are you not upset?” asked Starfire, surprised “I know the end of a relationship is hard and with the current circumstances…”

“What current circumstances?” repeated Terra aggressively.

“Well, the fact of friend Beast Boy being in a stable relation with friend Raven is probably hard to deal…” she realized what was in Starfire’s eyes. Pity. This got into her nerves.

“I’m gonna stop you right there, Star. Thank you so much for all your concern” she interrupted her loudly “But you don’t have to come here and rub at the poor loner’s face that everyone is in such a wonderful relationship!”

“But friend, that wasn’t my intention...” started the girl, regretful of her words.

“You’re so innocent, you can’t even see that Beast Boy’s acting is totally false to try and make me jealous…!” she revealed with a forced laugh “Now if you excuse me, I need to take a shower!”

With those words she slammed the door at Starfire’s face, who lingered in the hall for some moments, surprised. Then she sighed and walked away.

‘I suppose there’s nothing I can do for friend Terra after all…’ she thought, sad.

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April 11th 2010, 7:14 pm

“Hey Raven!” called a voice, and the empath made an effort not to smile behind her book when Beast Boy approached and kissed her cheek.

“Hi… Did you have fun?” she asked, since the changeling and Cyborg went to an arcade afternoon at the mall.

“Yeah, tons” he answered with a smile “You?”

“Just as usual” she shrugged, returning to her book.

“Wait up!” he asked before she got lost in reading again “I brought you something!”

Raven leaned, curious. Her boyfriend took from her pocket something small and wrapped in brown paper. She took it and ripped it, revealing a little blue coin purse with several tiny crows stamped on it.

“Did you like it?” he questioned, trying to read her expression “I saw it in this new store near the arcade. It was at the window, and it totally reminded me of you!”

“Yes, I loved it” answered the empath, holding the little purse like it was made of glass. “Thanks”

She kissed him on his chin, near his mouth. It was so gratifying to know that Beast Boy thought about her just as much as she thought about him when they were apart…

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When Starfire came to talk to Terra to check on her was the last drop. So she thought Beast Boy and Raven were perfect and she was lonely and sad? She even was a little rude with her and let her suspicions escape – suspicions that, she had to admit, were now coming apart – about Beast Boy trying to make her jealous.

Terra regretted her reaction. Star was a good friend and she felt like, since she cheated on Beast Boy, the rest of the team was slowly departing from her. Staring at her butterfly shaped hairpin, she wondered if that entire nuisance she felt was for still liking Beast Boy or simply not wanting to lose him to Raven.

So she came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. Both reasons lead to the same. She had to do something.

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May 19th 2010, 8:34 pm

“Wait, Raven!” asked Beast Boy, following through the hall. His girlfriend, however, with her hood up and the nose steep, walked faster “Oh, come on!”

He turned into a jaguar, exceed and stood in front of her. The empath gave him a look of scorn and crossed her arms.

“What?” asked dryly.

“What’s got into you?” he asked back, annoyed and with a feeling he’d done something wrong, even though he didn’t know what. They had just got back from a mission, in which they defeated Plasmum easily, so a bunch of fans approached them. When he was done taking some pictures with some of them, he noticed Raven flying ahead home, all alone. So he turned into an eagle and followed her.

“Nothing” she answered in a tone of ‘is clearly something’. “I don’t know why you came out of your dear fans just to come talk to me…”

“Is that it?” he exclaimed, understanding it finally. Raven seized the opportunity to go through him again. Of course, he went back to following her. “Raven, we’re heroes. You’ll have to get used to the fact that I have fans”

Raven didn’t even dignify this with an answer, turning and going inside her room. Before she  could shut the door, Beast Boy appeared and held it open.

“Fine” she said, next to his face “I don’t care”

“You don’t see me freadking out like that when I see _your_ fans!” he argued, trying to open the door completely. Raven laughed with no humor.

“I don’t have any fan… Maybe some, but they are all much more well behaved than your… your…”

“Raven, that’s all they are: fans! I’m not interested in any of them! I like you!” he affirmed, exasperated. “Besides, I know some fans of yours not so well behaved as you think!”

“Do you mean, like kids who cross the street without looking?” she asked with sarcasm. Beast Boy frowned.

“You really don’t know how much you’re pretty, do you?” he questioned, to what she just rolled her eyes and entered her room.

“Do you have a computer?” he passed the door. She pointed at a black laptop Cyborg had given her some months ago and she had never used. Beast Boy quickly opened it and started to type.

“What are you doing?”

“Proving you wrong on this” he answered, turning the screen to her. Raven forgot about the fact that she was mad and basically all that was in her head when she saw what he showed her.

A Raven fan club site. Pretty explicit.

“What the… Hell…” she mumbled, shocked. “Who did this?”

“One of your crazy fans” he said, trying his hardest not to be pissed off. “Star has one too…”

“But this pictures… and drawings… weirdly accurate…” she muttered, looking at it all. “Take it off!”

“Raven, do you even understand internet? I can’t do that!” he explained, nervous “If I could, I would have a long time ago! Do you think I like it?”

Raven didn’t answer, still observing the screen in her hands. Then she turned to her boyfriend with a suspicious expression.

“For how long exactly do you know about this thing’s existence?”

Beast Boy felt his forehead starting to sweat. The thing with the fans now seemed pretty simple.

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After the battle against Plasmus, Terra had a triumph smile on her face. This time it worked out.

She fell – kind of purposally – of her floating rock fighting against the uncontrolled monster and Beast Boy saved her. He even picked her up in his arms. Then, after the fight was over and the fans came talk to them, she saw Raven leaving before everyone, without a word, and soon BB followed her. Trouble in paradise?

She was sure Raven was mad because the boyfriend saved her. Then they would argue, and he would say he could never let her get hurt just because they were apart, and Raven certainly would demand him not to do that anymore. Soon, they would break up. Or at least, weaken their relationship. That’s when she entered, talking with BB like the comprehensive friend.

When the rest of the team arrive home, however, Raven was much more concerned on insisting with Cyborg to take some site down, and Beast Boy didn’t seem upset, he only looked at his girlfriend with a fun expression.

What the hell was happening?

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	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Steps

July 15th 2010, 12:32 pm

“Can I look now?”

“No”

“What about now?”

“I will tell you when you can look” said Raven with a mysterious tone “Until then, keep your mouth shut”

The empath guided him by his hand for some more steps and then took off the band that was covering his boyfriend’s eyes.

“Okay, you can look now”

Beast Boy opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a light green building with a bunch of plants around it and glass doors. Above these doors, one could read: Eggcellent – Vegan Restaurant. He turned to his girlfriend, the mouth opened.

“Happy birthday!” she said in a light tone of enthusiasm, which was the best she could do “I know it’s early, but tomorrow everyone will want to celebrate with you and I know Cyborg would never ever…”

Her little explanation was interrupted by a very long and passionate kiss.

“You. Are. Awesome!” he yelled, pointing at the restaurant, parting from her, the other hand still on her waist “Thanks”

“Well, thank me after we leave…” she muttered, still with a little smile “I don’t know how much tofu I really can take…”

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July 16th 2010, 9:54 am

“Oh, that was _so_ romantic!” said Starfire the next morning, her hands together and the eyes sparkling, after Beast Boy told them about Raven’s little surprise.

“I can’t believe you did this, Raven” commented Cyborg with a disgust expression “BB, never let her go, ‘cause that’s the biggest love proof I’ve ever heard of…”

“You don’t need to tell me twice!” exclaimed the birthday boy, hugging Raven, who made an annoyed face and pushed him lightly with a little smile.

“Well Cyborg, in my defense, I discovered vegetarian food isn’t so bad, Beast Boy’s just a bad cook” she explained, and she meant it. Some of the meals she had she would never realize weren’t really meat, but the ones she liked best were made of vegetables, like soups and scones, plus a spinach lasagna she loved.

“Boyfriend Robin, why have you never taken me to a Tamarean restaurant, or maybe a mustard one?”

“Hmm, because… These things don’t exist, Star” argued the leader, seeming upset. Starfire pouted and turned back to her waffles.

Robin frowned at Raven. He was clearly annoyed by the fact of the empath’s gesture made him bad in comparison.

Raven, however, couldn’t care less.

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March 17th 2010, 2:43 pm

The team was at the special school where Sarah worked. They went to the blonde’s invite to present themselves to the kids and now were helping to paint a new room that would be inaugurated soon.

The children were helping too, since it was all about the integration. So, the kids could socialize and give a proper style to the room that would be theirs.

Raven finished painting one of the walls light yellow and turned, looking for her boyfriend. Beast Boy was on the floor, playing with the kids like he was one of them, apparently having the time of his life.

“Hey!” he said when he caught her looking at him, and got up, walking to her.

“You really like kids…” she observed, sitting down and opening a bottle of water.

“A lot!” he agreed, looking at the little ones with kindness “I can’t wait for us to have one!”

Raven choke with the water she was drinking.

“Are you okay?” he asked, holding the bottle while she coughed.

“Yeah… You… Did you say: we have a one? Child?” she repeated, not hiding her look of terror.

“Yes” he simply answered, still smiling “Can you imagine a little Raven for me to play and spoil and… Rae, are you okay?”

“I…” the empath was paler than normal and staring at him like he was talking about setting her on fire. She looked around and took him by the hand, leading him outside, where they were alone and away from the all the mess.

“Beast Boy” she started serious “Don’t say that anymore”

“Say what? Have a child?”

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a good idea” she said shivering, to the changeling’s surprise look “I had a very though childhood… If I have a kid, it may have my powers and it’ll suffer just as much. I really don’t…”

“Wait, wait, wait” Beast Boy lifted his hand, also serious “If we have a child, we won’t raise it like you were raised.”

“Oh, so you’ll just let it destroy everything all around it, huh?” she questioned sarcastically.

“No, we’ll just… find another way. You know, so it can be happy and play while keeps the powers under control” he explained like it was the easiest thing in the world “That’s not a valid reason not to have a child”

“Can you stop?” she asked, running her fingers through her hair “Do you want to have a child now?”

“No”

“So…”

“No!” he repeated, interrupting her “You should know I want this now. So, when you have to decide if you’ll have me for life, you can add that to the jokes and the vegetarian thing and the fact I’m not really smart…”

Raven was speechless, staring at him. Beast Boy was nervous, and, seeing his girlfriend didn’t have any reaction, turned to leave.

“Wait” asked Raven, stretching her arm.

“What?” he turned, angry.

“I love you” she said, not changing her surprise expression. An abnormal silence fell between them, until Raven let out a little smile “I said it. I did it. Nothing exploded.”

She threw herself to her boyfriend’s arms and he tightened her against his chest. She felt her eyes wet, but couldn’t stop smiling.

“You can’t do that every time I get mad” mumbled Beast Boy with an emotional voice, and Raven laughed lightly.

Suddenly they heard a commotion inside the room being painted, and walked inside, holding hands.

The different paints were floating out of the cans in a circular movement, mixing and spreading, painting the walls with several spots and flicks, making the room extremely colorful and happy. Children and adults looked at the phenomenon in wonder and excitement.

Beast Boy turned to his girlfriend.

“Did you do this?” he asked with a smile.

“No” she answered with a sweet look “You did”

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September 22nd 2010, 2:34 am

Beast Boy and Raven had gone to their favorite movie theater again, the one of their first date, and arrived home pretty late, when everyone inside the Tower were already sleeping. Beast Boy stopped them at the hall, kissing her passionately against the cold wall.

Raven tangled her fingers in Beast Boy’s hair and felt the hands in her waist start to go up. She lifted her leg, which was quickly taken by his arm, and he approached her even more, all his body against hers.

It was normally then that someone entered the room or the alarm ringed, interrupting them. This time, however, nothing happened and nobody came. Raven felt her heart racing and separated from him, breathing heavily.

“Problem?” asked Beast Boy, also out of breath.

“No…” she muttered, putting a lock of hair behind her ear “I think I… should go to my room”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll walk you” he offered. Raven could feel a strong disappointment coming from him. They walked silently to her room, where she stopped, opened the door and turned to say good night.

“Good night, Rae” he said, smiling “I love you”

In that moment, the disappointment was gone, and she was only feeling the warm and almost soft emotion she always felt when he said that. When he leaned to kiss her, Raven made a decision. She took his warm green hand and pulled him inside, closing the door.

“Am I allowed in your room now?” he asked, with an expression of shock.

“Yes” she said, her face red and a rebel tone “I’m giving you permission to come in… And to stay, if you want”

The both of them only came out the next morning.

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September 24th 2010, 8:43 am

“Good morning!” exclaimed Cyborg, entering the common room, with a smile and a dreamer look.

“Morning…” answered Robin, looking at Starfire with a loving look.

“Good morning” repeated Star, returning her boyfriend’s look.

“Good morning…” said Terra, also with a smile on her face and staring at the horizon.

“I had a really good dream” told Cyborg, opening the fridge “Did you guys sleep well too?”

“Yes! I had the most wonderful dream!” answered Starfire with a giggle “And Robin did too, when he woke up…”

“Star, remember those things we don’t tell the others?” mumbled Robin, stopping her from saying further.

“I had a good night of sleep too, like in a long time…” said Terra “I even slept through the whole night”

The four teammates remained with dreamy expressions and smiles, until Robin frowned.

“Wait a minute… Isn’t this weird?” he wondered putting his right hand on his chin “We all had nice dreams… Could a villain have put some kind of gas or drug in the Tower?”

“Robin… Could you not do this, just this time?” asked Terra, rolling her eyes. Cyborg didn’t even seem to hear him.

In that moment Beast Boy and Raven came inside the room, holding hands and with light and dreamy expressions.

“Did you have good dreams?” Robin interrogated the couple immediately, and they just look at him, surprised.

“What do you mean?” asked Beast Boy.

“Well, we all had pleasant nights and nice dreams” he told, turning and not seeing Raven’s guilty expression and Beast Boy pointing at her with the eyebrows lifted.

‘Was it you?’ his look said.

‘I guess…” her eyes answered as she shrugged.

“… So I think we should inspect the Tower and put on gas masks right away and…” continued the leader, no one really listening to him.

“Wait, no!” yelled Beast Boy, interrupting him “I had a pretty okay night”

“Yeah, me too” added Raven, lifting her hood so they couldn’t see her expression “I even had a nightmare…”

“Really?” he asked, relaxing “Oh, do I guess it was only a coincidence”

“That’s right” assured Beast Boy, sitting at the table “Just a coincidence”

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Terra was at her quarry, alone, exploding rocks here and there. What did that mean?

She sat down, feeling lonely, and for a brief instant, thought about forgetting about everything and try to move on. Then she reminded the voice, so many years ago. It was right about not trusting Slade, so it should be right about Beast Boy being her way to happiness.

She took a smooth rock and threw it at the sea. It bounced three times before sinking.

She sighed and remembered what she had heard. Cyborg complaining about the fact that Beast Boy and Raven had spent the night in a room.

Worst of all, one day, when she entered the Tower silently and heard Beast Boy saying _I love you_ to Raven. He had never said it with so much meaning to her.

Terra realized she was feeling left behind. Beast Boy was winning the break up by being happier. But there was no rush. She still had time to be happier, or to Raven finally realize she and BB had nothing in common.

She just needed a little something to not feel like a loser. But she had time.

It was not like they were getting married or something.

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	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – Secrets

March 2nd 2011, 7:25 pm

“Friend Beast Boy?” called Starfire, opening the door “We’re going out to eat pizza and I would like to know if you… What are you doing?”

“Star, this is the bathroom!” yelled Beast Boy, shocked.

“But you’re not using the bathroom” she said, since the changeling was in fact sitting on the floor and reading a pamphlet.

“Whatever, let’s go eat pizza” he agreed quickly, walking to the door and putting the pamphlet in his back pocket.

“What’s this?” asked Starfire, taking the pamphlet out of the changeling’s pocket when he passed by her.

“It’s nothing! It’s a tofu coupon!” shouted Beast Boy, trying to take it back, but the Tamarean just floated out of his reach.

“Season’s best rings selection…” she read out loud and slowly. Then she turned to Beast Boy wide mouthed and with a reverenced expression “Are you going to… ask friend Raven to realize the matrimony?”

“No!” he denied, picking the pamphlet out of her hand and stuffing it inside his shirt. “Listen, Star, I don’t think you know that, but when we give rings, here in the Earth, it means we just… Want to go to a Chinese restaurant with the other person.”

“Really?” she blinked with a smile, then thought and frowned “You are trying to trick me, aren’t you? I’ve seen plenty of romantic movies to know that when a man buys a diamond ring, it is with the intention of asking the current girlfriend to marry him”

“No, no, it’s the Chinese food things, I swear!”

“I’ll just ask friend Raven” she informed, turning to leave.

“No! Wait!” asked the changeling, holding her legs “Okay, okay, you got me, I was trying to trick you”

“OH!” she clapped her hands and hugged her friend “So you really are going to marry Raven!”

“No, no, no! And you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone, especially Raven!” he demanded with a finger on the Tamarean’s face, making her smile fade.

“But friend Beast Boy, then what is your goal?”

“Listen, Star…” he started, sighing “I’ve already decided I’ll marry Raven. But I know that if I ask her now, she’ll just say ‘no’. To convince her to say yes, I have to do something extra special, do you see?”

Starfire landed on the floor, thought for a few seconds, then nodded.

“So, I’m seeing the rings now… Just because I want to check how much I’ll have to spend, you know, I don’t want to give Rae some cheap thing” he continued, looking at his feet “She deserves the best. After I get the money and the ring, then I’ll have to create the perfect situation for her to realize she also wants – and is ready to stay with me forever”

“That’s very considerate of you, friend Beast Boy” said Starfire in a bittersweet tone.

“That’s why you can’t tell anyone yet, do you see?” he finished, looking into his friend’s eyes “It’s gonna take a few months, and if she finds out, she’ll freak out, I know Raven… And don’t tell anyone else, ‘cause they will eventually let her know”

“All right, friend. I understand your intentions, and I promise not to reveal your secret to anyone” assured Starfire, serious “Raven is… how you say… a lucky girl!”

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March 10th 2011, 4:21 pm

“Star?” called Terra, waiting on the other side of the fitting room “Come on, I’m tired and I want to go home!”

“Just a minute, friend” asked the voice inside the curtain “This is the last one!”

Starfire came out of the fitting room in a magnificent green evening dress that really highlighted her eyes, pinned around her neck and leaving most of her back showing.

“Do you think I look good, friend Terra?” asked Starfire, looking herself in the mirror. Terra’s mouth was wide open.

“Wow, Star, you look amazing! It’s perfect!” she said sincerely.

“Glorious, so I will purchase it!”

Both of them came out of the store carrying bags and walked to the mall’s exit.

“Star, may I know why you bought such a fancy dress?” asked Terra while they walked “Are you and Robin going to some gala party I do not know about?”

“No, friend Terra, I just bought it because I want to be prepared for the engagement party of our friends Beast Boy and Rav…” Starfire stopped suddenly, dropping her bags and covering her mouth with both hands. Terra stared at her with gigantic eyes.

“What? Beast Boy and Raven are engaged?” she repeated, not being able to hide her disappointment.

“No, no! I shouldn’t have say that!” whined the Tamarean, squeezing her hands “Don’t tell anyone, Terra!”

“Well, are they?”

“Not yet… friend Beast Boy wants to propose in a few months” she told, afflicted “But please, do not tell her or anybody else, I promised…”

“It’s okay, Star” assured Terra with a hard look “Your secret is safe with me”

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March 10th 2011, 6:14 pm

Terra was walking back and forth in her bedroom, throwing everything she could put her hands on against the wall, her eyes glowing with yellow light.

“Damn…” she threw a wooden box on the wall, shattering it.

“Bitch…” she mumbled, casting a portrait of the team on the floor, the glass breaking.

“Why is this…” she yelled, turning her dresser on the floor with a bang “… happening to me?”

She stopped for an instant, breathing heavily. The she turned to her wardrobe, taking off all the clothes to the floor with anger. Until her hand bumped something heavy and smooth.

Terra blinked, her eyes coming back to normal, the anger being replace by curiosity. She put some clothes away and found the hourglass Beast Boy had given her when he asked her out the first time. The anger came back and she grabbed it, intending to destroy it.

When her hands touched the glass, however, the sand inside it glint with a yellow light vey alike her eyes and hands when she used her powers. She stopped, observing it. Suddenly, she felt a certain that this object could help her.

It brought Beast Boy to her once, it could bring him again.

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March 10th 2011, 6:15 pm

Raven was sitting on her bed’s edge, biting her bottom lip in an extreme affliction. She didn’t remind being this scared and anxious ever since her sixteenth birthday. In her hands, she had a little pink rectangular box.

On the box was written in blue letters: ‘Pregnancy Test’.

She took a deep breath. She was late this month.

Raven had no idea what she would do if she was pregnant. Because of this affliction, she hadn’t told anyone about her suspicions. Not even Beast Boy. She had to find out on her own. After she had calmed down, whatever the result was, she could talk about it with her boyfriend.

She read the instructions one more time, while in bed, next to her, the clock showed that two minutes had passed since she did the test. One more minute and she would know.

If she was pregnant, she knew when it had happened. A couple weeks ago, when she and Beast Boy went out to celebrate that their relationship was already one year and a half, they had been interrupted by an attack to the city of the HIVE. At the end of the fight, they realized it didn’t matter where they were, as long as they were together. Her clothes had been ripped by Chip’s apparatus, showing her belly, and Mamooth had threw Beast Boy when his shirt was caught by a wire, taking it off.

That made they too irresistible for each other, and in the eagerness of becoming one, the protection they used was a very old one that Beast Boy had for sometime already.

She felt a nice shudder along her spine to remember. Then she looked to the clock. The final minute was over.

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March 10th 2011, 6:18 pm

Beast Boy was concentrated playing video games in his room to go against Cyborg again when he finished taking care of the T-Car, in some hours. He would rather be with Raven, but the empath said she needed to meditate today and asked to see him at night. He got a little needy, but agreed. They needed sometime to themselves every once in a while. Especially Raven.

When he heard knocks on the door, he had a brief hope moment to think maybe it was Raven. But that was soon discarded, because her fragrance would precede her. He paused the game and opened the door. To his surprise, he found Terra, holding what looked like a gigantic hourglass.

“Hmm… Hey” he greeted her, looking at the hourglass. The sand’s movements were strangely hypnotizing.

“Hi BB” answered Terra in an anxious tone “Can we talk?”

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March 10th 2011, 6:16 pm

Raven sighed and stood up, walking to the little piece of plastic that would decide her life. She looked at the box with the instructions again.

_Interpretation of Results_

_Negative: Only one color band appears on the control region. Not apparent band on the test region. There is no pregnancy._

_Positive: Distinct color bands appear on the control and test region. Both bands indicate that you are pregnant._

_Invalid: No visible bands at all._

Next to the possible results there was an image illustrating how the test would be. She took the plastic stick and compared.

There were two color bands.

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March 10th 2011, 6:19 pm

“Do you remember giving me this clock as a gift?” asked Terra, raising the hourglass.

“What? No, I’ve never seen this thing before in my life” answered the changeling, looking at her with a weird expression.

“I see…” she muttered, disappointed “Maybe it just… Appeared in my room….”

“You should take it to Cyborg or Robin” he suggested “Maybe it was something from the evidence room that ended up in your bedroom.”

“Good idea, BB. Thanks, I’ll do that” she agreed with a smile, and turned to leave. “Oops…”

They looked down and saw that Terra’s boot was untied.

“Could you hold it for me?” she asked in the most innocent tone in the world. Beast Boy thought for a second to tell her to put it on the floor, but figured that it would be quicker if he helped. He extended his arms to the hourglass.

When the glass touched his green skin, the sand started to go up, against the gravity that ruled it until then.

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March 10th 2011, 6:19 pm

Raven put the stick and the box down on her dresser with trembling hands, breathing by her mouth, the heart beating hard.

She was pregnant. A baby was growing inside her.

Before any other thought crossed her mind, one yelled in her head:

_I have to talk to Beast Boy._

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March 10th 2011, 6:22 pm

The ring pamphlet, Raven in a ripped leotard, a colorful room, dogs in collars, a vegan restaurant, Raven singing next to him, a lilac blouse, a beautiful smile directed only to him – all of these things crossed Beast Boy’s mind in an incredible speed going to the forgetfulness, to the folder of _yet to happen_.

Terra kissing a brown haired man, a gigantic _piñata_ , The Brain, Doom Patrol, Trigon, Titans East – and then it stopped. It stopped in a night many years ago, when Beast Boy was at the door of the bond girl in front of him, and everything he wanted in the world was that she accepted going out with him.

“Hey, Terra” he said, confused. A part of his mind seemed to be fighting him, stopping him from what he wanted to say.

“Are you…”

No, It’s not her.

“…free…”

Raven, remember Raven.

“…Tonight?”

Terra smiled. He noticed something weird, something bad in that smile, but pushed to the back of his mind, along with that annoying voice. He leaned, staring at the beautiful pink lips. The blonde took a step closer, kissing his lips, with a strange triumph look.

Then the door opened.

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March 10th 2011, 6:22 pm

Raven arrived at Beast Boy’s door and found weird to hear voices. Her fist was raised to knock, but her anxiety was such that she decided to just open the door.

Only to find her boyfriend kissing Terra.

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	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – The Hourglass’s Return

March 10th 2011, 6:25 pm

Beast Boy took some time to understand what was happening. First, he was kissing Terra, his dream’s girl for some months now. Then, she was no longer this girl. His mind seemed to be pulled from side to side just like toffee.

And for some reason Raven was staring at him with tears in her eyes. Her red eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by a strong slap on his face. As Raven’s steps echoed each time more distant, the emptier his heart felt.

But he couldn’t understand why.

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March 10th 2011, 6:27 pm

Raven felt her heart breaking as she ran, and the shards piercing her chest from inside out. Warm tears ran through her face and her throat was hurting and closing.

She entered her room and closed the door, locking it. She leaned against it and slid until she was sitting on the floor, hugging her legs and crying bitter tears.

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March 10th 2011, 6:28 pm

Robin was concentrated analyzing data from the Jump City’s prison when the computer’s screen exploded in his face.

“What the…” he mumbled, getting up and checking if he was hurt.

Across the common room, in the kitchen, Starfire screamed. He turned to see the pan in which his girlfriend was cooking also burst, spreading green and hot stuff all around it.

The next moment, Cyborg came inside running, being chased by tools of his workshop, that were spiked in the couch’s back when he jumped to use it like a fort.

“What’s happening?” asked the cybernetic man from behind the couch.

“I don’t know…” answered Robin.

“Could it be… Friend Raven?” suggested Starfire, covering her head with a frying pan.

“Could it be?” repeated Robin with a serious expression.

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March 10th 2011, 6:30 pm

Raven’s bedroom was a complete chaos. The books were expelled from the bookcase violently, the bed was shaking in spot, the tables were overthrow, and the mirror in her dressing table had exploded, throwing shards everywhere.

The empath raised her head when she felt a piercing ache in her arm. Looking down, she found one of the shards pike to her skin. She took it off and, in a glance, saw the positive pregnancy test on the floor, next to the table where he once was.

Suddenly, everything stopped. Nothing more exploded, the flying objects fell to the ground and a dense silence hovered.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t lose control.

She had the baby.

If she was in danger, her baby was in danger. She could not allow that.

A strange calmness seized her. She put her left hand over the injured arm and healed it. Then she stood up.

Right now, the child growing in her belly was priority. It hadn’t asked to exist, it was not to blame. It had to be protected.

To protect it, Raven couldn’t indulge to lose control. She couldn’t let herself feel anything but that warm feeling that filled her chest in the moment.

You could call it maternal instinct.

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March 10th 2011, 6:26 pm

Beast Boy blinked, still holding the clock.

“What was that?” he asked, confused.

“It was nothing” answered Terra, putting her hands in the changeling’s face.

“Raven seemed sad…” he tried to follow her, but Terra stopped him.

“Do you… Want to chase her… Or stay here with me?” she asked in a silky voice.

Beast Boy felt his head ache. Just like his arms. Suddenly, he had the certain that if he released the clock, he would feel better. Then he put it in the close dresser.

The memories rushed in so fast he felt dizzy and he lost the floor under his feet. He fell unconscious.

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March 10th 2011, 7:24 pm

When Beast Boy woke up, he was staring at a bright and white ceiling. He immediately recognized it as the Tower’s infirmary. He got up quickly.

“Raven!” he called.

“Hey BB, we were worried!” said a voice next to him. He turned, finding Cyborg and Starfire.

“Where is Raven?” he asked urgently.

“Calm down… Raven is fine” answered Cyborg “She’s in her room and…”

Beast Boy stormed out of the bed, running to his girlfriend’s room. Before he could reach the infirmary’s door, however, he fell to the side and got paralyzed as a turtle in its back.

“Man, you can’t run in this condition” yelled Cyborg, picking him up and putting him on bed again. He had to push him when he tried to escape.

“Friend Beast Boy, please!” asked Starfire, concerned “You had a strong shock against your head; we need to see if there wasn’t any effects.”

“No… I have to see Raven… I… I did something horrible” he mumbled, in verge of tears “She’s never gonna forgive me…”

“What exactly did happen?” asked the cybernetic man, serious “Everything in the Tower suddenly started to explode, Terra shows up with you unconscious and Raven doesn’t leave her room for anything in the world…”

“I… I kissed Terra” he told in an embargoed voice. Both of them looked at him in shock and surprise “I don’t know what happened! I… It’s like I had… Turned back in time, forgot, I don’t know! Then Raven comes in and...”

He couldn’t go on, hiding his face on his hands. Starfire covered the mouth with her hands and Cyborg was scratching the neck, not knowing what to say.

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March 10th 2011, 7:30 pm

“Raven” he called through the empath’s door. He could hear a movement inside “Raven, please talk to me”

No answer.

“I…” suddenly, Beast Boy didn’t know what to say. What would he say? That he was tricked? How? How Terra could have tricked him into kissing her like Raven didn’t exist? What could he possibly offer as an explanation, if he had no idea what happened himself?

“I’m sorry…”

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March 10th 2011, 7:30 pm

“Is he really okay, Cyborg?” asked Starfire, worried about her friend.

“I don’t know, Star” answered the man, seeming tired “But it would do no good to hold him here much longer…”

“Was the stroke severe?” she questioned, but got only a humorless laugh as a response “Did I… say something funny?”

“No Star, it’s just that this was a very weird story…” he got up and turned on a panel, showing an x-ray of the changeling’s head “Do you see anything abnormal here?”

“No…” said the Tamarean after examining the image for a few seconds “I’m afraid I don’t see anything”

“Yeah, well, me neither” told Cyborg to her surprise “And there was no bump or wound in BB’s head. Just like in his room, nothing seemed to fall from somewhere high enough to hit him.”

“Are you saying friend Terra lied?”

“Something’s wrong, that’s for sure” he shrugged, sitting down “Honestly… Do you think Beast Boy would kiss Terra?”

Starfire shook her head, resolute.

“Friend Beast Boy and friend Raven were so happy together” she said firmly “Friend Beast Boy never looked at friend Terra like that again”

“That’s what I think too, Star… But then, what could have happened?”

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March 10th 2011, 7:30 pm

Terra was locked in her room, once again pacing back and forth, but this time, she was scared instead of angry.

What would happen if the Titans found out what she had done?

Her idea didn’t really work. Beast Boy’s mind went back in time, yes, but only while he was holding the clock. And she couldn’t make him hold that forever.

After Beast Boy fell unconscious, she decided to take him to Cyborg. Before she could leave the room, however, the whole floor started to tremble, and for a moment, she thought she was losing control, but it wasn’t her, it was Raven. She was probably having trouble with her emotions. She felt an evil satisfaction to realize that. But this feeling was quickly replaced by fear when she managed to take Beast Boy to the hallway and the others found them, asking what happened. She said Beast Boy had hit his head when the floor started to tremble and they didn’t ask further, concerned about the changeling. But they would, when the dust had settled. So she ran to hide the hourglass, which was currently under her bed. It was a smart move, because sooner after this, Cyborg went to inspect Beast Boy’s room.

But once Beast Boy was awake, what would he say? Would he accuse her? Would he remember?

Maybe that was a very bad idea…

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March 10th 2011, 7:35 pm

Robin was in her bedroom, accessing the Tower’s data from his own computer, since the one in the common room was still broken. All that was happening was very weird, so he decided to check the camera’s recordings. Of course, he could only see what happened in the hallways, but it seemed to be an irregularity. The cameras around the rooms stopped working at 6:17. It only showed static. Like there was some kind of interference. He could only assume it was because of Raven’s powers, but something didn’t seem to fit…

That’s when he heard a familiar noise behind him.

“Raven” he said, turning, to find the girl standing in front of him, in her uniform and the hood over her head “What the hell happened?”

“Robin” she said in her old tone of voice, the one without any emotion “I am leaving the Titans”

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March 10th 2011, 11:40 pm

“Beast Boy?” Terra called, walking in front of her ex boyfriend’s room, and finding him seated on the ground, the head in his hands. He raised his look slowly, and Terra was surprise to find out he had been crying.

“Are you happy now, Terra?” he asked, rage in his voice “Raven won’t talk to me. She won’t even open the door. I can’t even keep trying after what I did”

The both of them kept staring at each other for some silence minutes. Then Terra realized that no, she didn’t want him anymore. She really had reached her goal just for the fact of taking him from Raven. Her stomach moved with something alike guilt and she wondered, again, if she was a bad person.

“Beast Boy…”

“Go away, Terra” he demanded, his teeth pressed “I don’t wanna see you. I don’t know how, but you did this.”

“But I…”

“GO!”

She held her breath and ran away. What would be her destiny now?

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March 11th 2011, 6:04 am

Beast Boy hadn’t slept all night. When the sun started to rise in the horizon, he felt a piercing ache in his chest for not waking up next to Raven. Then he decided. He couldn’t let this ruin what he had with her. He would make her listen, even let her go inside his mind if it was needed, to convince her that his love for her never faltered, and that he hadn’t thought about Terra ever since his feelings for her started.

“Beast Boy, we need to talk…” started Robin, but the changeling ran right past his leader, going towards her girlfriend’s room. Yes, she hadn’t officially broke up with him, so she was still his girlfriend.

“Raven!” he called, his voice loud and confident this time, knocking on the door again and again. But he didn’t wait enough for her to answer. He opened the door.

What he found inside was enough to make his world fall at once.

Empty.

The bed without sheets, the bookcases without books, the dressing table where she sat and brushed her beautiful purple hair every morning with the draws opened and empty. No Raven.

He fell to his knees, realizing that now, it really was too late.

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	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 – Seeds

March 21st 2011, 6:15 pm

Raven arrived at her new home after a tiring day. She sat on the couch, which was still covered by a protected piece of fabric and put her feet up. Not using her powers was harder than she had anticipated.

The empath had an emergency saving account, and with it she managed to get all she had now. A rental agreement for one year of a cozy little house just outside her new city and some things for her new life. But she still had eleven months of rent to pay and baby stuff to buy. That’s why she went job hunting.

Robin had helped her with all the documents she would need. She now used the name Rachel Roth. Plus, she dyed her hair black and cut bangs to hide the jewel in her frontal chakra. A little make up made her skin look just a little paler than a normal human being’s. With her new look and her skills as a polyglot, she got a job in the local museum to translate some old manuscripts in Ancient Sumerian, Romanian and Sanskrit. It was pretty far from her house, so she made a mental note to look a hidden place where she could teleport without being noticed.

Before she fell asleep on the couch, Raven got up and went to the kitchen. She opened a glass jar where she stoked her tea leaves and smelled the sweet scent. She felt the small lunch she had some hours earlier try to come back and closed the jar quickly. Yes, her beloved herbal tea still was making her sick.

So she picked up the purse she threw on the ground and took a book out of it. Between the pages, was carefully saved the picture of the ultrasound she made the day before. There, no more than a little white dot among black shadows, was the first image of her baby.

She smiled and put it on the fridge’s door, tied by a star-shaped magnet. Every time she felt insecure and wished rushing back to Jump City and her friends, every time she felt angry and wanted to send Terra to another dimension, every time her heart ached because Beast Boy wasn’t there and she felt an urge to come back and forgive him, she would come here and look at the image, seeking strength.

“Everything is going to be fine” she said, more to herself than to the baby inside her belly. Opening the fridge’s door, she picked an orange juice box up and poured it in her blue mug, going back to the reading about what would happen to her body in the next months.

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March 21st 2011, 6:17 pm

“Did anybody see Beast Boy?” asked Cyborg, going inside the common room “He needs to check up his head”

“Did you look in his room?” questioned Robin, not turning.

“Of course…” the cybernetic man rolled his eyes, trying hard not to give an extremely sarcastic answer.

“Did you look… in Raven’s room?” suggested Starfire in a low voice “He… has passed a good amount of time there lately”

“Hm, no…” said Cyborg, a tense air coming to the room “I’ll do that. Thanks, Star”

In the moment he went to the door, Terra came in. He asked about Beast boy, but she also denied seeing the colleague. A heavy silence took place when she sat on the couch. Starfire concentrated on Silkie, in her lap, and Robin in the fresh fixed computer.

They had a conversation with Terra after the last events. Robin took her to the interrogation room, saying it was all good and he only wanted a calm place to establish what had happened. The blonde kept firm in her original story. She had gone to Beast Boy’s bedroom to talk, and they ended up having a weakness moment because of their history and kissed. Right after that Raven came in, slapped him and ran away. Terra tried to follow her, but then the floor started to tremble and she lost balance, falling on the ground. She heard a thump and when she turned, Beast Boy was unconscious on the ground. She thought an object had fallen on his head, but there was no way of being sure. She could only assume Beast Boy forgot their moment because of the shock.

In fact, the changeling wasn’t sure of what had happened. When interrogated, he said the last thing he remembered was getting up to answer the door. Right after that, he was kissing Terra and Raven showed up, but he couldn’t connect the dots. His head always started to hurt when he forced, and Robin decided to leave it like that. When Beast Boy was fully recovered, he could make everything clear.

Until then, he only could watch Terra closely. The seed of doubt was planted.

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March 21st 2011, 6:20 pm

 While Cyborg was knocking on the door with the inscription RAVEN, a huge green Mastiff walked around a busy street across town, sniffing like his life depended on it.

A car turned in the last second to avoid hitting the enormous dog when he suddenly crossed the street. He completely ignored the horns and ran, following the trail he captured, anxious. His nostrils filled with smoke suddenly and he turned into a young man, also with green skin. He was at a train station.

That was not a good sign.

But it was okay, he thought, noticing all the looks he was attracting by just being there. If a green man was easily noted, then a violet haired girl would also be remembered in a twenty four hour period. Around that. He thought.

Some hours later he was sitting in the sidewalk, watching the trains come and go. No, I don’t remember. I wasn’t working yesterday. I’m sure I would remember a violet haired girl. Teen Titan Raven? No, no.

Beast Boy felt his hopes leaving him. That station had dozens of different destinations. That if Raven didn’t come here only to mislead him and then teleported to another dimension.

He would think of something else, but his head was hurting so badly… What was he doing there again?

Better go home. He wanted to see Raven before bed. Maybe she could fix his headache.

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May 9th 2011, 7:32 am

Raven came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body and ran to change in her room. After putting on her underwear, she saw a glance of herself on the mirror. Then she turned to look better, noticing something was different.

She stood in front of the long mirror with a golden frame, reflecting her from head to toe. Her breasts were relatively bigger, but she had noted that about two weeks ago. She blinked, looking further. Then she turned so she could see her profile.

Her belly was visible now. A little bump right under her belly button.

She put her hands there and smiled.

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May 9th 2011, 9:30 am

Robin was walking down the hallway when he heard something. He turned and found Beast Boy in the training room, lifting some dumbbells.

“Beast Boy!” he exclaimed, happy to see his friend feeling better “It’s good to see you exercising!”

The changeling released the dumbbells and stared at his leader like he was crazy.

“Well, sure, I’m just getting prepare for tomorrow’s combat training…” he explained, no expression detectable. Robin remained silent for a few seconds.

“Beast Boy… Combat training was at the beginning of the week” he informed in a low tone of voice.

“This week, huh?” repeated Beast Boy, scratching his head, a little curious “Well, so I guess I don’t have to be here…”

Robin followed his colleague with his eyes. He didn’t seem to know exactly where he was going. It was best to ask Cyborg to check on him again.

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June 13th 2011, 10:05 am

“Good morning, Miss Roth” greeted Raven’s doctor, a blond young man.

“Good morning, Dr Steven” she answered, lying on the exam bed patiently.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting next to her and examining a file.

“Big…” she informed, to what he laughed “Is it normal for the belly to grow up so fast?”

“It is” he assured, pulling a little monitor next to them “Can you lift your shirt? Let’s make sure everything’s okay”

The empath lifted her shirt, exposing her round belly, and the nurse next to her put some gel in her skin, making her feel a little cold. The doctor then put the receptor in contact with the gel and squeezed lightly, and she heard the tranquilizing sound of her baby’s heart beats.

“Everything seems fine” he said after some minutes of examination “Would you like to know the sex of the baby?”

“Hm… Sure” she decided suddenly, thinking it would be more practical. He leaned to the screen and then turned to her with a smile.

“You’re having a boy”

Raven smiled. For the first time in five months, she really wished Beast Boy was there.

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June 13th 2011, 3:05 pm

Starfire folded her untouched green dress, the one she bought specially for her friends’ engagement, now apart from each other. Lately it was pretty dark, ever since Raven left. She felt Robin knew something important they didn’t know, but decided not to insist in finding out. He always made the best decisions for the team. If he thought it would be best to keep this secret, she would accept.

She also felt Terra was hiding something. But she refused to say what. Everyone thought that, whatever it was, it was related to the sudden end of Raven and Beast Boy’s relationship and the changeling’s odd behavior.

“Star?” called a familiar voice, accompanied by knocks on the door. She walked to it, curious.

“Friend Beast Boy” she said, seeing the changeling standing in front of her, with dark circles under his eyes and a miserable expression “Do you need some help? Would you like to have the talk?”

“No… I came to ask you for a favor” he informed, taking a little velvet blue box of his pocket. “Lately, I haven’t been really reliable… And I still have hope that Raven will come back one day. Could you keep this for me… Until then?”

Starfire took the little box and opened, revealing a magnificent diamond ring with little dark blue sapphires on the sides. The Tamarean felt her eyes fill with water.

“You said you didn’t buy it…” she whispered.

“Yesterday… I forgot about what happened…” he explained, looking to the ground “I pick up the pamphlet, remembered that I marked this one and I… Bought it…”

“Anyway, that’s exactly why it’s not safe if I kept it” he sighed, raising his look to meet his friend’s “Can you store it for me? And, if when Raven comes back I’m not in conditions… Do you give to her for me?”

Starfire held back her tears and close the little box.

“Of course”

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July 8th 2011, 8:22 pm

Raven got up quickly, the eyes wet, the mouth open. She was sitting on the couch, reading, completely distracted, when she felt a pressure in her belly, from the inside. For the first time, her baby had kicked. She approached her hand, trembling, and felt it again.

She bit her lip, trying not to think of Beast Boy. But she wanted really badly to be able to share this with someone. She missed him, her friends and even Bubbles. So she thought about someone she could talk to. She walked to her room and from inside a drawer in her wardrobe she took the hand mirror that took her to Nevermore. She avoided going there ever since the separation from Beast Boy, scared of what she might find. But today, something urged her to go inside her mind. For a delirious moment, she imagined if all her emotions were also pregnant. Putting that image away, she went inside the mirror.

Her landing was the softest she ever had. She floated slowly towards the dark green grass and didn’t felt any weight over her feet when they touched the ground. Looking up, she found all of her emotions coming to greet her. She noticed, with relief, that they were all thin and not-pregnant.

Then the relief was replaced by surprise when she realized they were all smiling. All of them. Even Knowledge, Timidity and Rage.

“Welcome, Raven!” greeted Knowledge, approaching her “I already registered. It will be here forever, anytime you wish to consult…”

The version of herself in yellow cloak and glasses gave her a big thick book. But it was different from all the other books in her library’s shelves. It had a light blue cover and it had the picture of a little crow with big eyes, with a pacifier in its mouth and wearing diapers, smiling. Above this picture, it was written ‘Baby Book’ in colorful letters.

“I can’t believe you did this…” she mumbled, opening the book. The first page had the inscription: ‘My name is…’ and a blank. Right under it, ‘I am…’ and ‘a boy’ in her handwritten. Going through the pages, she realized the book had registrations of all her pregnancy until the present moment and everything she had discovered about the baby. The last inscription had today’s date and it was written: ‘the first time mommy felt you moving’.

Raven raised her tearful eyes. But she didn’t have time to express her gratitude. The other emotions had already surrounded her.

“You don’t need to be afraid of the delivery” said the green cloak emotion, Bravery “I’ve been training and I think you should to, it’s all about breathing!”

“You’re gonna be a mom!” exclaimed the fearful and excited voice of Timidity “Do you think he’ll like us?”

“You should sleep while you can” suggested Laziness, yawning “They say babies won’t let you sleep…”

“I hope you’re ready for all the work ahead of us” grunted Rage “You can’t let anyone near him, get it? He needs constant protection!”

Before she could answer to any of them, however, she felt someone hugging her. She looked down and found Happiness on her knees, hugging her belly, with a gigantic smile.

“I can’t wait for when you’re here” she whispered against her belly. Raven couldn’t help but smile. Lifting her head, she found the lilac cloak emotion. She was also smiling and walked to her.

“I thought you would be inconsolable” said the empath to Affection, not being able to hold back. Her clone opened a sad smile and shook her head.

“No, Raven… Every time I think about Garfield, of course, my chest squeezes and I feel like crying…” she told, putting her hand on her chest “But how could I be inconsolable when the person I’ll dedicate all my efforts is on his way?”

“Are there still… Sunflowers here?” she asked, not looking directly to the emotion.

“There are. We… You could never stop loving Beast Boy” she explained in a controlled tone of voice “But… I want to show you something”

Raven turned again to Affection, seeing she had the hand stretched.

“Seeds?” she asked, taking them in her own hands. They were big seeds, just as big as her nails, dark green and had grooves all around them.

“Yes, seeds. They appeared on my stand the day after you discovered about the pregnancy” told Affection, excited “It’s the first time that there’re seeds, not seedlings. I planted them immediately, all around Nevermore! I can’t wait to see what will sprout!”

Raven smiled. She never imagined how much a baby could change things in her life.

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	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – Rain

August 17th 2011, 6:14 pm

Terra had never felt so bad in her life. She was keeping a secret for a long time about something that seemed to get more and more serious as the days went by. She rarely left her bedroom and even more rarely spent time with the others.

They knew.

She knew they did. Starfire never showed at her door again to invite her to go to the mall, nor Cyborg or Robin talked to her alone about trivial stuff. And sometimes, she entered a room and the three of them were very close to each other and stopped talking suddenly. They were talking about her, she was sure of it.

And every day she tried to make herself believe that Beast Boy was better, that he wasn’t going crazy because of her.

She was going back from the bathroom to her bedroom when the changeling appeared, with a smile on his face. A flash of hope sparkled inside of her.

“Hey, Terra!” he called, waving and walking to her “Are you ready?”

“Ready?” she asked, confused “Ready for what?”

“Today’s concert, come on!” he said impatiently. He had that weird glow in his eyes again. A yellowish, sick glow “U2, yeah!”

Terra felt she could cry.

“BB… We already went to this concert…” she explained slowly, watching the changeling’s smile disappear “A couple of year ago…”

“Oh… Right” he mumbled, disappointed. The glow started to fade to be replaced by the gray, melancholic shadow he usually had in his eyes “Right. I don’t want to see you, I remember now.”

And he walked away, leaving Terra with an even heavier burden of guilt in her heart.

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October 9th 2011, 3:50 pm

The labor was getting closer, and Raven was doing her best not to panic. She went to her monthly appointment to the gynecologist the day before and when wrote that in her calendar, she realized there was only two months left to her due day. Then she looked around and realized she hadn’t bought anything for the actual baby. She had a bunch of books about pregnancy, but she didn’t have any diapers, toys or even the crib.

That’s why she was spending today, her day off, that she usually spent meditating, reading and resting her always tired feet, at the mall, in a big store of baby things. She already ordered the crib in a furniture store and it would be delivered in her house in five days.

Now she was pushing a cart filled with diapers, moistened tissues, blankets, baby pillows and sheets, and she just finished sorting little clothes that included blue, green and yellow baby overalls, tiny shirts and tiny pants. She felt a sting in her chest to think how much fun Starfire would have helping her with this. Satisfied with her work, she drove the cart to the cashier.

So she walked through a stuffed animals section. A green dog specially called her attention. He was completely green and had a stupid expression. She stared at him for a while, trying not to let any memory out.

She took a blue dinosaur, a brown bear with a red tie around its neck and a colorful centipede. She glanced to the green dog again and went her way.

So she felt a kick in her belly.

She stopped, putting her hand in her belly, frowning at it.

She came back and pick up the damn dog.

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November 29th 2011, 11:35 am

Cyborg was cooking pasta cheerfully. It was being hard for him to cook only for five people, not six, so he invited Sarah to join their lunch this Sunday.

He had just put the crude pasta on the boiling water when Beast Boy came in, looking agitated.

“Beast Boy?” he called carefully “Are you okay?”

“No… No…” he muttered, then turned like he just saw Cyborg “Cy, did you see Emerald?”

“Hm… No” he answered after some seconds to understand the question “I haven’t seen any emeralds…”

“No _an_ emerald, _the_ Emerald” he explained, annoyed “Stop kidding around, she was here like a second ago, holding my hand, and now she’s gone, you have to help me find her!”

He started to look down and walk all around the place, searching in corners and under tables. Like he was looking for a dog or maybe… a child.

“It’s okay, man” he tried to calm his friend, walking to where he was and putting the hand on his shoulder “It’s gonna be okay”

“Yeah… I guess…” he agreed, that emptiness taking his eyes again “Raven’s worried sick…”

Say his beloved’s name seemed to bring him back to reality. The changeling shook his head and sat on a close chair.

“Who is Emerald, BB?” Cyborg didn’t resist and ask, curious. His best friend blinked, the mouth half open.

“Someone I loved… In another life, I suppose”

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December 21st 2011, 12:45 am

Raven woke up in the middle of the night with a keen pain in her belly. She got up difficulty, panting, and ran to the bathroom. On the way, however, she felt a warm liquid running through her legs. Her water had broken.

She took a deep breath. She was prepared for this. She turn on the lights and walked straight to the center table where was the phone and, next to it, a card for an all night taxi. She called and asked one to come get her. About two months ago she came to the conclusion it wasn’t safe to use her powers in such an advanced state of pregnancy. So she would do this the old fashion way.

The waiting was distressing. She changed her clothes slowly, putting on a blue dress with white flowers and a heavy black coat above it. She never liked dresses, but she found out they were the comfiest piece of clothing in the world when you have swollen belly and legs, aching feet and hot even in the coolest environment. She put on a pair of lined boots, the comfiest she could find, and grabbed the bag she left prepared a week ago with clothes for her and the baby.

While the cab didn’t arrive, she counted how many seconds the contractions lasted, leaned on the brand new crib, which she had placed in the middle of the living room, since her bedroom was too small. It was made of wood and it had beautiful grooves on the headboard. The mobile above it had various colorful birds with open wings, like they were flying.

Another painful contraction. Besides the pain, she was also trying really hard not to let any energy escape from her control. It would only put her and her baby in danger. Before she could stop herself, she ran to her bedroom and grabbed the green dog on her bed, hugging it tight.

Once again she wished Beast Boy was there.

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Precisely when a cab horned in front of Raven’s house and she got out, knowing she wouldn’t come back alone, a strange phenomenon took place in Nevermore.

Knowledge was entertained with a book when she heard. She lifted her look and walked to the window. A thick curtain of water was falling on the rocky surface outside. She smiled, opening the Baby Book on the desk right in front of the window and fixed her gaze outside on the little amount of earth where Affection had planted a seed.

Lazyness was taking a nap, lying between the golden grasses of her savanna when a flash flood of water woke her suddenly. She blinked, confused for a second, then her look turned to her right, where she remembered Affection had planted the seed. She laid next to it and waited.

Braveness was very anxious to express herself, it was so hard Raven need her, but not be able to use her powers. When she was almost deciding to go out anyway, a heavy rain started to fall and she got hypnotized by the beautiful image of her lake, always set like a mirror, splatter as the rain drops fell on it. She was already soaking wet when her gaze turned to a empty space on the edge of the lake, where a seed was waiting to sprout.

Wisdom was at her favorite clearing, legs crossed and floating in the air, meditating to provide stability now that Raven most needed. She felt a difference of pressure in the air and lifted her head in the exact moment the rain started. She smiled and lowered her hood, letting the water run on her face. This was strangely relaxing. When she lowered her gaze, it was to stare at the center of the clearing, where the earth was scrambled.

Timidity got scared with the thunder that echoed through her swamp all of the sudden. So she looked from behind a tree, realizing it was only a heavy rain. She was so surprise, she forgot to fear Raven wasn’t able to give birth. She walked slowly to the driest place of her swamp, where Affection had put the pretty seed.

Happiness was making justice to her name. Her pink cloak was forgotten on the ground while its owner ran, receiving the rain with open arms and jumping in the water puddles like a little kid. When she stopped, she sat with her legs crossed on the light green grass, staring with a big smile to the piece of earth where the seed was.

Rage was standing, crossed arms, looking at her little world of destruction and chaos like there was no rain, her red cloak getting heavy of all the water it was absorbing. Suddenly she turned to a little square free of flames, where a circle of green grass surrounded an amount of earth.

Affection’s garden looked even more alive with the rain washing the beautiful flowers, which got fresher and lusher every minute passed. In the garden’s center, the emotion was kneeling, her cloak getting dirty because of the mud, but she didn’t seem to mind that. She was concentrated on the exact point where she planted most of the seeds, the wet hair glued to her face, eyes sparkling, and a smile in the lips.

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December 21st 2011, 4:25 am

“You’re ready, Rachel” informed the doctor, of whom she could only see the eyes, since he was wearing mask and cap “You can start to push”

‘That’s it’ she thought, talking to her emotions ‘Please, contain yourselves, at least until it’s over. Hang in there.’

“It’s okay, breathe” oriented the nurse next to her, kindly “You’re going well. Now push again”

Raven had never experienced such pain and effort before. But she focused on the objective ahead of her.

“I can see the head, Rachel, keep pushing” ordered the doctor. When he made the sign for her to stop, she saw an expression of surprise on his look, and got worried. Then she remembered she wasn’t supposed to feel anything. She leaned on the chair, panting, feeling sweat running through her face.

She couldn’t do this. It was too much. Too much pain, too much effort.

‘Come on, Raven’ said a voice she recognized as Braveness ‘You can do this, there’s not much left!’

‘Raven, you defeated Trigon, something no one was ever able to do!’ now it was Wisdom’s voice ‘You certainly can do something thousands of women did before you!’

‘Leave me alone…’ she whispered. Then she heard something that would have made her jump in the chair, if her muscles weren’t so tired.

Beast Boy’s voice.

She looked around, looking for him, because she was sure she heard him right next to her. But there wasn’t no one besides the doctor and the nurse.

 _‘You can do this, Rae!’_ she heard again, his calming voice, like he was there, holding her hand _‘Do you remember the ultrasound picture? Just a little more and we’ll see him at least!’_

Raven couldn’t understand, but the fact was that the voice gave her the certain she could do this. It was almost like she had done it before. She clenched her teeth and pushed again when the doctor told her to. And, in what seemed to her like seconds, it was over.

Unlike what she thought, the heart beat over the ultrasound wasn’t the most comforter sound in the world. It was the loud and sharp cry she was hearing right now. The doctor smiled and showed her a baby with greenish skin. She stared at that little being with awe, forgetting about her pain and fatigue until she leaned on the chair again. Her eyes didn’t left the nurse that took him, until she brought him back, clean and with a blue blanket wrapped around his little body, giving him to her trembling arms.

Raven knew they were saying words to her, but she couldn’t listen. She could only see the baby she was holding, swollen and crying, the eyes closed, the green skin. She felt confusion and fear emanating from him.

“Hi” she whispered, and the baby stopped his crying to only whine a little, comforted by his mother’s voice “I waited for you…”

“Does he have a name yet?” asked the nurse with a smile. Raven raised her head.

“Yes” she said, once again in those nine months making a sudden decision, like she was only following the script of a story already written “His name is Caleb. Caleb Roth… Logan”

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Knowledge smiled when she saw through the window the little green leaf appear in the middle of the brown earth, among the few drops that still fell from the sky. So she wet the feather she was holding in an inkwell and leaned on the pages of the Baby Book.

_12∕21∕2011, 4:35 am – Winter Solstice_

_You were born._

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0OO0

December 21st 2011, 5:00 am

Robin entered the common room and had a surprise to see someone was already in there. And he got even more surprise when he saw that it was Beast Boy.

The boy wonder approached his friend, who was sitting on the couch, leaned. He had that weird yellowish glow in his eyes and his arms were stretched like he was holding something, but there nothing there.

“Beast Boy?” he called carefully “What are you doing?”

Beast Boy didn’t turn. In another time, in another life, he was holding his son for the first time.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – A Cry for Help  
January 7th 2012, 11:44 pm  
Robin was sitting at his evidence desk, one hand supporting his head and the other one pattering the smooth and cold surface, not really analyzing anything in front of him. Right now, he had a serious problem. But his problem had nothing to do with villains. His problem’s source was in his own Tower.  
For starters, he lost an important member of his team. He sighed, remembering the talk he had with Raven about ten months ago.  
“Leaving?” he asked, surprised and annoyed, walking to the empath “What do you mean by that?”  
“I mean I’m moving outside of the Tower, and I will no longer be a Titan” she answered with an unchanging voice “I can’t tell you exactly for how long”  
“Raven, I cannot let you do this without an explanation” he demanded, crossing his arms “Have you talked to someone else about this?”  
“No, and I don’t intend to” she shrugged “In fact, I’m just informing you because you’re the leader”  
“It’s not” he said, raising an eyebrow “There’s something else. Don’t even try to hide it from me, you know just as well as I do about the connection between our minds”  
The leader watched the empath’s expression tremble lightly, and for a moment he thought she would collapse. However, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and when she opened them again, she was impassible as before.  
“What happened just now?” he insisted, getting closer “Why did everything start to explode? Did you have something to do with that?”  
“Fine” she agreed unwilling to, diverting her look “But you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you”  
“I…”  
“Promise!” she demanded, and Robin could tell she wasn’t going to give up.  
“Okay. I promise” he said, anxious. Raven looked down, like she was deciding something.  
“I’m pregnant” she informed, lifting her look. Robin certainly didn’t expect that. The leader lost her serious gaze, his mask getting round of shock. He opened the mouth to say something, then closed it again, uncertain.  
“I found out today” she continued, ignoring his attempts of saying something “And right after it… I caught Beast Boy and Raven kissing in his room”  
“No!” exclaimed Robin, suddenly finding his voice. Raven just nodded, and he knew she was saying the truth.  
“But… Beast Boy wouldn’t do this…” he mumbled, going all detective like “And right after the explosions, Terra appeared with him unconscious, even if there wasn’t anything indicating a head bump… That is… A little weird”  
“Robin, what I want you to know is that I don’t care about this right now” she said, surprising him for the third time “You saw what happened when I saw them. That was very dangerous. I could have dropped something on myself and harm my baby”  
“But… If you just talk to him…”  
“Being near Beast Boy will be extremely unstable to me, Robin” she raised her hand, interrupting him “I cannot allow that, not when there’s a third person totally innocent and so frail around. Do you understand?”  
“Of course I do…” sighed the man, crossing his arms. He was running out of arguments “So he doesn’t know?”  
“No. And he won’t, not until this child is born and I am ready to deal with him” she claimed, convict “That’s why you can’t tell anyone about this for now”  
They remained a while like this, staring at each other, with a problem and no solution between them.  
“I’m leaving tonight” she said at last.  
“Where are you staying? Do you need any documents?” he asked, resigned “I have for all of us in case of emergencies…”  
“Thank you, Robin. That would be great.” she smiled faintly.  
Robin rubbed his face with his hands, trying to keep awake. Raven had left nine months ago, and by then she was one month pregnant. It was almost sure she already had the baby. He knew it was soon, but… He couldn’t think of a better way. Another memory crossed his mind, a much more recent one, from only three days ago.  
He was training in the equipment room when he heard a yell. He stopped punching the sand bag in front of him, paying attention. So he heard:  
“Robin, come here now!” it was Cyborg’s voice. He didn’t think twice. He ran through the hallway, towards the yelling, now followed by heavy knocks.  
Entering the common room, he found something that left him momentarily paralyzed. Beast Boy had his eyes with that weird yellowish glow again, but this time he was attacking everything in front of him, like he was seeing something they couldn’t – or something that wasn’t there. Starfire and Terra were in defensive positions and Cyborg ran to him.  
“Help the girls to contain him!” he asked, not taking his eyes off his changeling friend “I’ll go get a sedative!”  
“Dude, you’re not going anywhere!” yelled Beast Boy to the couch, changing into a tiger and biting the stew.  
“He’ll destroy everything if it keeps going like this…” mumbled Terra, apprehensive.  
“I’m afraid of the moment he decides to transform into an animal bigger than what the room can support…” said Starfire, exactly what Robin was thinking.  
“It’s okay” he approached the girls, speaking low “I’ll try to talk to him… If he attack me, Star, you take him out of the Tower flying, it’s okay if the window breaks. Terra, you guarantee they have a safe place where to land.”  
No waiting for a response, he approached his friend carefully, who, after cutting the couch in two, was walking randomly in his human form.  
“Beast Boy” he called with the voice low and calm, a hand stretched ahead “It’s me, Robin. It’s all fine. Nothing is attacking you.”  
“Robin?” he asked, and the glow sparkled in his eyes. He seemed to get sight of something behind his leader and yelled: “Watch out!”  
Robin dodged right in time to not be sliced by the fierce claws of a green lion. Then he saw Starfire passing in high speed, hugging the feline and taking him to the window, that shattered in a million shards when they both went through it.  
Getting up, the room’s doors opened and Cyborg came inside, carrying a big syringe with a clear liquid inside.  
“Where is him?!” he asked, and Robin pointed to the window, to where they both ran. Right under them, Starfire was holding Beast Boy against a floating piece of earth with difficulty, while he changed into a different animal every second “Hold him tight, Star!”  
Cyborg jumped, landing heavily behind his struggling friends, and diverted the Tamaranean with his arm, quickly hitting Beast Boy with the needle and injecting the sedative. The green jaguar turned into a snake, which turned into a wolf and finally into his human form again, falling on his knees and with a sleepy expression completely falling down.  
Beast Boy wasn’t well ever since Raven left, but now, they reached a critical state. This recent attack caused a lot of damage, and they were forced to intern Beast Boy, leaving him under constant doses of tranquilizing and tied to the infirmary’s bed, always supervised. He didn’t seem to know who or where he was. Although, for what Robin could observed, the problem wasn’t really who or where, but when. For some reason, Beast Boy’s mind was coming and going, making him relive moments of the past and act in the present.  
Cyborg couldn’t find out what was wrong. They tried to call a specialist, but he couldn’t find anything either. He suggested it may be a condition developed from a great shock, and he said therapy may help. But the changeling refused to talk to him, and not even seemed to be listening most of the time.  
Robin had lost another member of his team. But he was afraid of losing him forever if he couldn’t find anyone capable of curing him. And there was only one person he trusted and that had the ability of getting inside one’s mind to see what was wrong up close.  
The problem was convincing her to come back.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
January 8th 2012, 6:55 am  
Caleb was five weeks old and, right now, yelling with all the strength he had. Raven woke up from her brief period of sleep and leaned to the bassinet next to her bed. Picking up the crying baby in her lap, she half sat half laid while breastfed him. Her eyes closed heavily and when she opened them again, her son wasn’t hungry anymore, but also didn’t seem to willing in going back to sleep.  
She sighed and looked out the window, seeing the sun rising in the horizon. She got up lazily and walked to the kitchen, still with Caleb in her arms. She remained standing, lightly swinging him to make him fall asleep, while a kettle covered by a black energy floated to the tap, filling itself with water and then going to the stove, which lighted a small flame by itself. The baby started to whine again and, before it turned into a screaming, Raven put him on her left shoulder and hit lightly on his back, relieving him from his gases.  
“Now you can sleep, right?” she asked, holding him in front of her. However, Caleb only stared at her with his big violet eyes wide open. Raven had never appreciated the color of her own eyes as much as now. She smiled involuntarily. To her surprise, Caleb smiled back.  
“You smiled” she said, her own smile being replaced by an admiration expression. The doctor told her the babied only recognized a smile and smiled back after one month old. She could feel the satisfaction emanating from the little human being, which soon was replaced by confusion when he saw his mother’s expression changing so quickly.  
“I love you” she said, smiling again and getting a beautiful smile in exchange. It was funny. It had been so hard to say these three words to Beast Boy, but in the last five weeks, it was something she said every day, without any discomfort, it was only natural.  
The kettle whistled and she put tea leaves – which fortunately didn’t make her sick anymore – in her blue mug and poured hot water in it. Caleb followed her moves with curiosity. She was about to go back to her room and try to sleep some more when she heard a familiar noise. Looking around, she saw a light coming from the center table. It was her communicator.  
She hesitated, not knowing what to do for a moment. So she tried to reach the communicator and realized she had Caleb in one hand and the mug on the other. She put the mug on the table and the baby on the crib. He complained a little for being abandoned, but then she spin the bird mobile and he was completely distracted, fascinated by the color’s movements.  
The empath finally picked up her communicator. The screen said ‘Robin’. That wasn’t so bad. She fixed her hair as much as she could and answered.  
“Raven!” greeted Robin’s voice, followed by a nostalgic image of her leader.  
“Hi, Robin” she answered with a smile, sitting with the communicator in front of her “How’s everything?”  
“How are you? Did you have the baby?” she didn’t fail to notice the fact that he avoided to answer her question.  
“I did” she said simply.  
“Did everything run okay? Is it healthy? Is it a boy or a girl?” he questioned, curious.  
“Everything went fine. It’s a boy, a perfect boy” she said with a hint of proud in her voice.  
“I’m very glad to hear this, Raven” he affirmed with honesty and a melancholic smile “Really. Congratulations.”  
“Thank you, Robin. But… That’s not the only reason you called me, is it?” she raised an eyebrow.  
“Well… No, it’s not” he admitted, still looking into her eyes “We have to talk”  
“If this is about coming back, Robin, I’m not sure if I’m ready…”  
“Raven” he interrupted her in a serious voice “Please, just listen to what I have to say”  
“I know it must be hard to you right now, with a baby to care alone… But I… We need your help. Urgently”  
“What happened?” she asked, concerned, feeling the gravity in Robin’s words.  
“It’s Beast Boy” he revealed, and she made an effort not to say anything, considering the million of thoughts that crossed her mind in that moment “Raven… He is not well. Ever since you left, he’s been behaving… Oddly”  
“We thought it was just the shock of your departure, maybe even some depression…” Raven felt a squeeze in her heart to hear that “But now, we came to the conclusion that something a lot more serious is going in Beast Boy’s mind.”  
“His… Mind?” she asked, confuse.  
“Raven, he is losing it” told Robin, with a miserable expression “There’s no other way to put it. He has amnesia crisis, sometimes he doesn’t recognize us or call for people that are dead, or even people we never heard of before.”  
“The situation became critical four days ago, when he started to attack people and object in the Tower randomly” the empath took her hand to her mouth, surprised “We were forced to sedate him and inter him. Cyborg did all he could, we called doctors, but it was all useless.”  
“You are our last hope… His last hope” he finalized with a frown “Please Raven, come back and help him.”  
The empath ran her tongue through her lips and automatically turned to see the crib where her son was. She wasn’t pregnant anymore, she had full control of her powers and ten months had passed. She was without excuses not to come back.  
Besides… Regards what happened, she still loved Beast Boy. And she couldn’t help but feel thankful for the little miracle in the crib that tried to reach the paper birds. She couldn’t just stand there while he was suffering.  
“Okay” she answered “I’ll leave tomorrow morning”  
“We can pick you up if you…” he started, but she interrupted him.  
“No” she didn’t want anyone to see Caleb yet “I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon. I’ll do everything I can”  
“Thank you, Raven. Call if you need anything”  
“There’s no reason to thank me, Robin. See you soon” she turned the communicator off without waiting for a reply. She really needed to meditate.  
She walked to the crib and sat with crossed legs next to it, floating in the air, closing her eyes and saying her mantra.  
She was so distracted by the recent news that she didn’t notice the mobile was still spinning, its top portion covered in a dark green aura.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Raven’s Return

January 9th 2012, 9:05 am

Four Titans had breakfast at the table, in absolute silence. The air was so dense it could be cut with a knife. Each one in its own world, two keeping secrets from the mates. Robin had a cup of coffee untouched in front of him, an arm laid on the table and the other one supporting his chin, his elbow on the table’s edge. He didn’t look at anything in special, but sometimes glanced at Terra.

The blonde, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the friends’ presence, poking a cereal that long ago had lost its integrity in a bowl filled with milk. She had big dark circles under her beautiful blue eyes and a frown, as if she was thinking about something important.

The other two, who suspected about the fact that the leader and the blonde friend had been keeping things to themselves, nothing said, their minds filled with concern for the teammate, usually life and soul of the Tower, that was some floors above them, sedated and tied to a bed.

Robin looked to his communicator. Besides the hour, it also showed him that Raven was on her way. Only four more hours. He didn’t tell anyone about her coming, for a simple reason: he suspected Terra. He feared that warn her about the imminent improvement of Beast Boy’s state would lead her on doing something stupid. He was also interested on the blonde’s reaction to see the colleague again.

He only hoped it wouldn’t be too much.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

January 9th, 1:15 pm

“Are you sure he is going to be okay?” asked Raven for the third time.

“Yes, Ms Roth, you can relax” repeated the brunette middle age woman with a steady attitude “This is the best daycare in Jump City! All children and mothers are satisfied with our services”

Raven sighed. She knew that very well, she had researched the best and safest place to leave her baby while she went to see her friends. But now she realized that separating from Caleb was harder than she had anticipated.

“Okay” she agreed. The bag with all the things Caleb would need was already on a locket, with a tag with his name on it. All she had to do now was give her baby to that stranger.

Concentrating on the anxiety to see her friends again, as well as the fact that they needed her help, she summoned Braveness and, kissing Caleb’s green forehead, put him into Mrs Sanchez’s strong arms. The baby let out a little insecurity scream and stretched his hands towards Raven. This broke her heart.

“How precious!” she said, smiling, and started to swing him in a little more intensely than Raven used to. She stretched her hand to stop her, but the baby seemed to like that, laughing and forgetting the fact that he’d been abandoned. “What a nice boy!”

“I know…” mumbled the empath, fighting against the urge of taking Caleb, go back to her little house and tell Robin and Beast Boy they could…

“Now go before he sees you again!” the woman ordered, pointing the exit.

“Right… I’ll be back before nighttime” she informed again, walking slowly to with her back to the door.

“All right, see you then” answered Mrs Sanchez, in a business manner, while she arrange her purse on her shoulder and turned to the exit.

“Bye Caleb” she whispered, looking back once again “I’ll be back soon… I promise”

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

The daycare was relatively far from the Titan Tower. Without Caleb, Raven didn’t bother to walk, teleporting herself directly to the little island. Grabbing her purse hard, she warned Robin she was there and identified herself at the elevator’s doors.

After putting her index finger on the indicated place and let a scanner read her violet eyes, the familiar doors opened and she got inside, nervous. Conflicted feelings mixed inside of her. She was looking forward to see her friends, but hesitant to the questions they may ask. She also didn’t know what to expect of herself to see Terra or Beast Boy. She felt resentful of the former teammate, but her true deception was towards the changeling. At the same time, she couldn’t help feeling concerned about what Robin said about him.

Suddenly she remembered she didn’t tell Mrs Sanchez that Caleb liked to sleep with the green dog. Before she could truly get worried about it, however, a sound indicated she reached the informed floor and the doors opened, revealing her friends waiting for her.

“Hm… Hi”

There was a brief moment of silence after her words, and she realized Robin hadn’t informed anyone about her arrival. The leader had a smile and a hopeful expression, and was looking around, like he was expecting something. Starfire had her eyes wide open and Cyborg opened his mouth, both completely surprised. Terra, on the back, also had a shocked expression, but there was something more – could it be fear?

“Friend… Raven?” called Starfire, approaching her carefully, as to be sure she wasn’t an illusion. Raven reminded she still had black hair.

“Yes, Star” confirmed the empath, her chest filling with affection to hear her friend’s sweet voice. The Tamaranean held her breath, her eyes filled with tears and she walked to Raven, throwing her arms on her neck. Raven closed her eyes and waited for the ribs breaking sensation, which never came. She realized she was still breathing easily and opened her eyes. Starfire was hugging her gently, what was highly uncommon, indicating not happiness, but search for comfort.

“Thank you for coming back, Raven” said Robin, putting his hand on her shoulder, still attentive to something she didn’t know what.

“Raven!” exclaimed Cyborg, approaching her, and Starfire released her, letting the robot man hug her too. Raven could notice something was very wrong. The reigning emotions weren’t pure happiness, but something close to a hopeful relieve. Like when you’re dealing with something really hard and someone comes to help you.

“How are you?” she asked, separating from Cyborg, and noticed none of them seemed rested. They all had tired, pale faces and a shaggy appearance.

“We’ve been better…” said Cyborg, looking down.

“Friend, why did you leave us without saying the goodbye?” asked Starfire, seeming hurt.

“We can catch up later” determined Robin before she could answer “Now, if you can follow us to the infirmary, Raven…”

“Yes” she agreed, following him. On her way, she passed by Terra.

“Hi Raven” she greeted her, uncomfortable, looking down and holding her right arm with her left hand.

“Hello” answered Raven expressionless. She felt again fear emanating from the blonde, and noticed she was in far worse state than the others. Almost purple shadows were under her eyes and the hair was poorly cared, pointing at all directions.

Something else came from her, but the empath couldn’t discern what, due the big amount of emotions that took the room. What could it be?

“I really hope you can help BB, Raven…” said Cyborg, taking her of her thoughts.

“Is he really that bad?” she questioned, although she already knew the answer. It took something really serious to get the whole team that way.

“See for yourself” answered Robin’s voice, opening the infirmary’s door to allow her entrance. Raven took a deep breath and entered.

A nostalgic feeling broke into her when she step into the white and bright room, remembering that was where she agreed to be Beast Boy’s girlfriend. This feeling soon was gone, however, when she turned her head and found him.

Beast Boy was unrecognizable. Tied to a white bed, still in his uniform, looking fixedly at the horizon, the mouth half opened, he looked almost lifeless. A shell with nothing inside.

Raven felt her heart squeeze. She thought she couldn’t look at the ex boyfriend’s face without wanting to punch him for kissing someone else, but it all was forgotten to the sight of the state he was.

“Beast Boy…” she muttered, letting her purse slid and fall, walking to the changeling “What happened to him?”

“I know is pretty shocking, but a lot of it it’s just the sedative’s effect” explained Cyborg, coming closer “He… gets too agitated without it. I reduces the dose, I can stop it if it’s easier to you”

“What exactly has been happening?” she asked, turning to her friends, making an effort not to let her voice tremble. Terra fixed her look on the floor like she wasn’t listening and the other three looked at each other with meaningful expressions.

“Terra found him unconscious, supposable by a hit in the head” explained Robin “Ever since, he has been having amnesia attacks more and more frequently”

“I wouldn’t call it amnesia, Robin… Maybe delusions?” suggested Cyborg, his arms crossed “Sometimes he forget where he is. For instance, he thinks he’s still in Africa, or at the Dooms Patrol. But sometimes… He also calls for people we don’t know or looks for things in the Tower that were never there”

“Do you… have any idea what could be happening, friend Raven?” questioned Starfire. Raven didn’t answer immediately, frowning, her hand on her chin.

“That sounds like…” she said finally “…A case of temporal instability of the mind…”

“Temporal? You mean like…” started Robin.

“He is, in lack of a better word, traveling in time, yes” she completed, examining the changeling’s face closely now “But that’s really rare… And usually is caused when the person tries to travel in time… Or when there’s contact with a very powerful magic object!

“Beast Boy?” she called him, carefully. The changeling turned to her like he was dreaming.

“Raven… Here. For luck” he said simply.

“See? I told you he says things that make no sense” said Cyborg, frustrated. Raven, however, recognized those words. For an instant she relived the moment that Beast Boy put a penny in her hand, right before the battle against Trigon.

“Starfire” she said in a low voice “Call him”

“Hm… Friend Beast Boy?” the Tamaranean obeyed, her hands together in an insecure position.

“Starfire” he said again, like reading something “Sorry. But you have to admit it was funny”

The day Starfire got caught in one of Beast Boy’s pranks accidentally.

“Hey BB!” called Cyborg when Raven pointed to him.

“Cyborg… Dude, you should ask her out…” he mumbled.

“Hm? Is he talking about Sarah?”

“Beast Boy” called Robin in a serious tone.

“Dick…” answered the changeling “All set for your bachelor party”

Robin blushed intensely.

“Oh! I just remembered something!” exclaimed Starfire, walking to the door “I’ll be back in a few minutes!”

“That was weird… He was on the future?” asked Cyborg, scratching his head.

“A version of a future, yes” agreed Raven, still very serious “But this is worrisome. He’s traveling at an alarming speed. It will exhaust his mind pretty quickly”

“Can you do something?” asked Robin in an urgent tone.

“I… can go inside his mind” she answered, a little hesitant “So I can try to restore his time notion, keeping him on present, like it’s suppose to be”

“Do you need anything?” questioned Cyborg, since the empath didn’t do anything after her words.

“No… No” she said, shaking her head. She was afraid of going inside Beast Boy’s mind, afraid of what she might find. But she couldn’t turn her back to him now. They were, after all, friends. He had been there for her when she needed. And she would there for him as well.

“Caleb, go get some milk…” muttered Beast Boy, pointing at something they couldn’t see. Raven turned so fast she snapped her neck.

“What did you say?” she asked, not hiding her surprise. He had just said her baby’s name. Could Robin…? No, she didn’t remind telling the leader her son’s name.

But Beast Boy had returned to mumble incomprehensible things.

“What is it, Raven?” called Cyborg, suspicious.

“Nothing” she said, calming down “You… need to stay near. I don’t know how long this is going to take. Keep his body stable”

“Done!” agreed Cyborg, going to the monitors around his friend.

“I know you can do this, Raven” said Robin, encouraging her.

“I hope so… Robin… If I’m not back by the end of the afternoon…” she started, talking in a low voice so Cyborg couldn’t hear them “Could you go… at this address?”

“Don’t worry” Robin slid the daycare’s card out of sight, understanding it all.

“All set!” exclaimed Cyborg, and they walked to the bed.

Raven sat with her legs crossed, floating some inches from the ground, so her head was at the same height as Beast Boy’s.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos” she recited with her eyes closed, and a black energy raven came out of her chest, flew around the room and went to Beast Boy, penetrating in his head.

No one noticed Terra had left the infirmary.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – Crack  
January 9th 2012, 2:04 pm  
Terra left the infirmary quietly right after Starfire. She ran to her bedroom, a million thoughts crossing her mind.  
She entered her room and closed the door, lying in bed, trying to calm down.  
She was afraid. And bad things happened when she was afraid.  
Thick tears ran through her face to her chin, as she realized what was about to happen.  
Raven would find out what she did.  
She and Beast Boy would get back together, and she would be kicked out of the team.  
For months she feared this moment. Sobbing, she fell asleep.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
Raven blinked, looking around. She was in her spectral form, being only a shape with eyes in the dark. She knew she wouldn’t land in earth or find any kind of personification of Beast Boy’s mind like her own mind – this kind of organization, with division and different personalities were a privilege of being half demon.  
The human mind didn’t had such features, being disorganized and, most important, in general governed by the moment’s main emotion. When she went inside Robin’s mind, for instance, all she could see were his memories and thoughts about his obsession for Slade. That’s why, going inside someone’s mind, she usually found the problem quickly.  
However, she was standing on front of something she never saw before. Just as she anticipated, Beast Boy’s mind was extremely overwhelmed. She was before some kind of colorful swirl, build of images and memories. She hesitated.  
Raven knew she had to go to the center to find the problem’s source. But she was afraid of getting lost in the middle. After she enter, it would be hard to come back. She could be buried by the great amount of memories and emotions she would experience in such speed.  
She needed something to focus in order to not forget. An anchor. She decided it would be Caleb. Summoning her adorable baby’s image, she went inside the swirl.  
She faced herself in a pink cloak, openly laughing.  
“Sure! I’ve always thought you were funny, BB!”  
A warm feeling took all of her body, making her feel happy, although she wasn’t sure why.  
A tall and brunette young man was talking confidently and, in the back, she saw herself, next to Starfire, with a dreamy look.  
It was like needles were spiking at the bottom of her stomach, rage and frustration together…  
Now she saw Terra, in a way she never saw before, much more pretty than the real Terra and with a kind of glow around her… Even in the sloppy clothes she was wearing.  
Raven felt a stride. Like she was driving and suddenly went through a particularly deep hole in high speed. It was good, she was almost losing herself. She kept the image of Caleb biting the green dog’s ear in her mind and continued her way through the swirl.  
“Beast Boy… If you knew something bad about me, would you still be my friend?”   
She was in a place she had never been. A room filled with mirrors. All of them reflected Slade’s image. Terra suddenly had lost her glow.  
The room dissolved and Jump City appeared. She watched herself and her friends fighting against… Terra. A lofty, terrible Terra, like she never saw before.  
They now stared at a statue of Terra. And she felt a deep sadness, ripping her heart apart.  
Another stride. Before she could recover, images surrounded her again.  
A happy feeling of excitement took her while she watched Beast Boy and Terra’s heads coming closer…  
The excitement quickly turned into a different feeling, of regret and impotence, a bitter taste in her mouth. Beast Boy was standing in front of a door written ‘Raven’.  
A black dragon’s image brought up a blinding fury.  
The fury persisted, but now it was a bestial creature she faced, a creature that threatened her unconscious body, lying on the ground.  
A white and gray room appear, and Beast Boy put a penny in her hand. A serious determination took over.  
Now everywhere was sunny and she saw a long haired Raven dressed in white hugging Robin. A feeling between hope and those needles in her stomach spread…  
She was in a forest now, Beast Boy was looking down and a tall man stared at him with a disapproving look. She felt like she was wrong, unqualified, not good enough…  
The unpleasant feeling remained, but now Beast Boy was in a closed and gray place, in front of a blonde girl in a student outfit.  
“Things change, Beast Boy…”  
Another stride. Raven was confused. Were there memories of a parallel future?  
Terra holding her hand. Terra at the movies. Terra fighting. Terra training. Terra eating pizza. Terra dancing.  
She recognized these images. This time, the glow around Terra started to fade… fade… until it was gone.  
That’s why when she watched the scene of Beast Boy finding his girlfriend kissing someone else, she felt very a low degree of rage. What was stronger was the disappointment.  
So she was floating in a starry sky. Looking around, she saw the scene of about two years ago, when a villain kissed her. The rage she felt was so intense she almost forgot she was Raven inside of Beast Boy’s mind, feeling Beast Boy’s feelings in a past memory.  
Until the rage was gone, she didn’t see anything. When she realized, she was watching from the outside her first kiss with Beast Boy at the ice rink.  
A cold feeling in her stomach, at the same time she felt her lips getting warm and sensible. Once again, nothing else existed, nothing was important, except for that moment. When the kissed ended, she saw herself, now wrapped by a luminous glow.  
Now she was the one reading, eating, sleeping, embarrassed, serious, upset, hiding a laugh or pushing him away, and at each scene, the glow grew stronger.  
Something warm and comfortable slid from her chest to her whole body, and this time, it was something constant and reliable. Love.  
Beast Boy was now in a jewelry, and she followed his search on the showcase, until he pointed at a specific ring…  
Her vision changed…  
Now she was in Beast Boy’s bedroom. This scene was different from all of the others. The colors were stronger and they seemed to be trembling, like a sketch.  
Terra was holding an hourglass that seemed extremely old. She recognized the runes carved in it, and they seem to vibrate with power. The sand was the most stable thing of all, almost like it didn’t belong in there.  
In the moment Beast Boy touched the clock’s glass, the colors exploded.  
Raven had reached the hurricane’s eye.  
All she could feel was emptiness. The void she left after she was gone.  
If she could, she would cry.  
In there, in the center of Beast Boy’s mind, was an enormous crack, dividing two mirrors that reflected different images. Standing in front of them, she faced herself in one, exactly how she reminded to see herself that very morning. In the other side, however, she had a expression less tired, a bigger smile and a ring in her finger.  
Raven felt that one, and saw Beast Boy with a gigantic smile and tears in his eyes, holding a baby with greenish skin in his arms.  
She kept walking, and saw herself in a simple white dress, holding a sunflowers bouquet, the eyes sparkling, a smile and the glow around her.  
She sighed, going back to the crack’s location. She understood that the mirror reflected what should had happened, if Beast Boy had never touched the hourglass. And she knew that if she went between the two mirrors, she could see images of both futures.  
But she wouldn’t do this. She knew exactly what she should do right now.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0OO0Oo0  
January 9th 2012, 4:02 pm  
“It’s been quite a good time, isn’t it?” said Starfire with an anxious voice, rubbing her hands in one another.  
“Hm…” muttered Cyborg, looking at the display in his arm “Almost two hours… But they both seem stable”  
“I just hope this works out…” commented Robin, leaning against the wall with a raised foot and his arms crossed “If it doesn’t…”  
Silence fell between them, nobody wanting to express in word the worst that could happen.  
The three of them startled when a loud whistle echoed in the room. Pi-pi-pi-pi-piiiiiii…  
Cyborg ran to the devices that monitored Beast Boy. The changeling started to move, unquiet.  
“Something’s happening…”  
“To Raven too!” yelled Starfire, looking to the empath, who was frowning like she was in pain.  
“Let’s trust Raven and wait a few…” started Robin, but before he could say anything, the spectral raven came out of Beast Boy’s body and flew to its owner.  
“Ah!” Raven panted, opening her eyes and falling down. She accepted her friend’s help to stand again and went to Beast Boy’s side, looking anxious.  
“Did you do it…?” mumbled Robin.  
“We’re about to find out” she said, focusing on the changeling, who was still moving in bed.  
“Beast Boy…” called Raven in a whisper, holding his hand.  
Beast Boy’s emerald eyes opened. Everyone held their breaths, waiting for his reaction.  
“Raven!” he whined, finding her violet eyes, and the both hugged.  
“I’m sorry Raven, I didn’t want to, I…!”  
“Quiet. I know” she mumbled with a crying voice, but smiling. Beast Boy released her suddenly and held her to his arm’s length. Robin and Cyborg got prepared to sedate him again.  
“Star!” he called, looking around, and the Tamaranean smiled and stretched her hand, giving him a little blue velvet box.  
“Raven…” he said, and she took her hands to her mouth, trembling “Since you saw it in my mind, it’s not exactly a surprise, but… Will you marry me?”  
“Yes” she answered, nodding and letting a single tear ran through her face.  
“Glorious!” exclaimed Starfire, floating again with wet eyes. Next to her, Robin smiled satisfied and Cyborg looked up, apparently very interested in the white ceiling, his human eye sparkling.  
“So, what happened?” asked Robin after some seconds in which Raven put the beautiful ring on her finger.  
“It was Terra. She’s got a crazy clock that made me go back in time…” told Beast Boy, annoyed.  
“I think she didn’t had the intention of damaging your mind like that” said Raven “But she does have an object of great magic power, Robin. That she can control with her powers.”  
“Hm… Where is she?” asked Cyborg, looking around. No one knew the answer. Suddenly Raven got up, fully alert.  
“I have to go” she declared, to what everyone protested “Not forever, but I…”  
“Raven” called Beast Boy’s steady voice “Was it true… What you showed me?”  
The empath nodded with a smile.  
“In order to show your mind which reality you are, I showed a piece of my reality while I was gone” she explained “I fixed the crack and gave you an anchor of the present. Our son.”  
Beast Boy opened a big smile and got out of bed, holding her hand.  
“We have to go, Robin” informed Raven, the smile fading “I have a bad feeling…”  
“I want to meet your baby too!” demanded Starfire, holding Cyborg’s body, who had been turned off of shock.  
“We need to find Terra” said Robin, looking in his communicator “It says here that she’s in the Tower, but…”  
That was when a huge quake shook the Tower and knocked all the Titans to the ground.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
January 9th 2012, 4:15 pm  
Caleb didn’t understand what was happening.  
First, he was taken from the place where everything smelled like his mother, where the birds were and where was the sleeping song. He was taken to a place where everything was different and there was a loud noise that never stopped.  
So they went to a new place, where the smell was different, but nice, there was several little bird and a funny woman.  
Then he realized that his mother was gone! That was extremely desperate. He cried and called, but his mother didn’t came. The woman swung him again and gave him the milk that smelled like his mother, what calmed him a little bit.  
Now he was lying in a comfortable soft, with images he didn’t recognize above him, missing his mother and the little birds. It was hard to sleep with all those lights around him. At home there was only one light, his mother’s. Here, there were a lot of lights. He didn’t even know there could be so many!  
He whined, hoping his mother would hear him and appear above the bars, like she always did. But she didn’t. He tried to move his clumsy arms, trying to do like the big people, and the images he didn’t recognize started to spin like his birds. That was a little comforting. The colors were nice.  
When his eyes started to close, he missed the Green. The Green smelled like his mother and was beside him when he slept. To his surprise, the Green appeared above the bars and went to his side. Feeling his mother’s scent, he fell asleep.  
He woke up with a startle when the world started to shake.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – Sand

_‘Slade was right. You don’t have any friends.’_

_‘You belong to me now, don’t you?’_

_‘I do.’_

_‘I trusted you; we trusted you! We gave you everything and you treated us like dirt!’_

_‘Terra, you can’t…’_

_“My name is Terra. I have done horrible things. And I have absolutely no regrets.’_

_‘I’ll never forget you, Terra.’_

Terra woke up with a scream stuck in her throat, her sheets and pillows on the ground, cold sweat running through her forehead.

‘What a horrible nightmare…’ she thought, holding her arms to keep warm. Outside, the sun was setting, and the sky was dark blue with hints of orange.

Looking to the side, she noticed the clock showed that it was 6:24 pm. She had slept for almost two hours. Putting her hand on her forehead, she remembered the day’s events. Panic starte to grow inside her chest. By now, they probably already knew. She had an impulse of running away.

“That’s not fair…” she muttered, and the panic was replaced by rage “This is all Raven’s fault! If only she… Or if Beast Boy didn’t… Urgh!”

She fell on her knees next to the bed, punching the soft mattress. That was when she noticed a yellow light underneath it. Leaning her right hand on the floor, she looked under the bed, where she had hidden the hourglass. The sand inside it sparkled and the glass reflected the glow everywhere. Besides, the grains were moving really fast inside the bubbles, like two little swirls…

Terra stretched her hand to fetch it, but the hourglass got away from her, sliding to the other side and raising itself on the air. The blonde got to her feet and watched hypnotized the hourglass spin faster and faster towards the open window. Outside, it stopped, floating in the air some distance from the Tower. Sand and earth started to approach the hourglass, involving it. Each second more material joined the aggregate, which grew in an alarming speed.

In front of Terra’s shocked eyes, a monster made of sand and rocks were made. He had the Tower’s height, thick arms and legs and the hourglass insert in its chest. Two cracks in its rocky face glowed with a yellow light like two terrible eyes.

A gigantic hole opened revealing its mouth, but instead of a sound, what happened was an earthquake.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

“What the hell was that?” yelled Cyborg after some minutes, when the trembling was over.

“An earthquake” answered Robin, getting up and helping Starfire, who he had held in his arms to protect “Something tells me it wasn’t exactly natural”

“Do you think it affected the whole city?” asked Raven, getting out from under the bed, where she and Beast Boy had hid. She was of course, thinking about Caleb at the daycare.

“I believe so” said Starfire in a concerned voice.

“I need to see Caleb. Right now” declared the empath.

“Let me come with you!” asked Beast Boy. Raven nodded and held his hand. So she lifted her cape with the other hand and spin, involving them both.

Nothing happened.

“What the…?” she mumbled, trying it again. She was still in the same place. “I… I can’t teleport. I can’t open a portal”

“That’s weird” said Beast Boy.

“Guys…” called Cyborg, and they all turned to the serious tone of his voice. He was staring at the screen in his cybernetic arm. “I’m detecting something outside of the Tower. Something _big_.”

Robin ran to the door and the other followed. The five Titans stopped in disbelief. All they could see through the wide window was a bunch of sand, earth and rocks. And it only seemed part of something. Getting closer, they saw it came from the little island and it went until they eyes could see.

“Did a mountain fall in our island?” questioned Beast Boy. In that moment, the huge shadow turned, causing another earthquake, but not as intense as the first one.

“Mountains don’t move” said Robin gravely.

“It’s going to the city!” yelled Starfire. In a few minutes, the thing got some distance, and they could see it had a humanly format and it was walking toward the continent.

“It is… Huge” mumbled Cyborg “It’s like five Cinderblocks…”

“We still need to stop it” said Robin “Titans, go!”

“I need to go get Caleb” informed Raven, looking at Beast Boy, He agreed with a nod. “The daycare is across city…”

“You go first” he determined, as their friends ran through the halls “We’ll get it down”

“Okay… Be careful”

“You too. Oh, Raven?”

The empath turned, impatient.

“I loved the name Caleb” he said, and they smiled before they parted again.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Terra was vaguely aware of the fact that her communicator was ringing. But she couldn’t take it to respond. She couldn’t even get up. Her head was hurting so bad she was sure it was about to explode. And she longed for that moment, because at least the pain would stop.

It started right after the sand monster’s appearance. Before she could do, even think of anything, she felt a pain in her head that only grew worst. The earthquake had knocked her down on the ground, and there she remained, holding her head with both hands, eyes shut, teeth creaking not to scream, although a strangled moan went through them. She sweat cold and kicked the air, rolling with the pain.

_‘You don’t have any friends’_

_A room filled with mirrors…_

_‘Beast Boy… It’s the truth’_

_An empty street, all five Titans stared at her, in fighting positions._

_‘I don’t have any friends, remember?’_

_A metallic room, Raven on the ground, covered in mud._

_‘Traitor!’_

_‘Or is it because, deep down inside, you really believed I was your friend?’_

_Jump City destroyed, lines of sladbots marching. Nothing but terror and despair._

_‘I’m not some sad little girl just waiting to be rescued’_

With a last vision of her friends falling to her feet into the darkness, Terra passed out.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Chaos reign in the streets, as an earth giant walked through, covering a block each step it took, crashing anything underneath and spreading sand all over the place. People ran, desperate for a security area. A little boy cried looking for his mother, and in panic, tripped in his own feet and fell on the ground. A shadow covered the place where he laid, and a rock approached him faster and faster.

A red motorcycle passed by his side and a hand took him out of the way moments before the rock hit the ground, destroying it. The motorcycle turned and rolled away, stopping next to a crowd of people, and Robin gave the boy to his desperate mother.

“Run, take as much people as you can!” he ordered, stepping out of the motorcycle and taking off his helmet. The public didn’t take long to obey. A white and blue car stopped next to him and Cyborg and Beast Boy came out of it.

“Beast Boy, help Star attacking his face through the air” he pointed to the monster “Cyborg and I will aim his legs”

Beast Boy nodded and soon a green eagle was flying high.

“Where’s Terra?” asked Cyborg while they ran to accompany the giant.

“She’s not answering” said Robin “But there’s no time to wait or look for her”

“Do you think…? She could be behind this monster?”

“I don’t know” he answered in a finishing tone. They were close to the legs of earth and rocks. He prepared some explosive discs in his right hand while Cyborg’s right arm rearranged itself in his sonic cannon.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Raven flew in her highest speed, but she still wasn’t able to surpass the earth golem. An annoying sand was spread through the air, making difficult for her to see while entered her mouth and nose, and she suspected it was this sand that was keeping her from opening a portal to teleport. The material that came out of the monster was glowing, leading Raven to believe it had some kind of magic.

Relieved, she heard a familiar explosion and the giant staggered. She took an impulse and managed to at least be ahead of it. She was extremely worried. Coincidence or not, the golem was walking towards the daycare where Caleb was. And the ground continued to tremble, she knew because she could see the buildings shaking. Her son could had fallen from the crib, or even worst, something might had fallen on top of him, burying him…

She shook her head, putting these thoughts away, and focused in her objective, in the moment, get to Caleb. She could feel energy being released, but didn’t care a bit about it. Her powers, as terrible as they were, wouldn’t make much difference in this chaos. So, whatever they could do to retard the monster was welcome.

Rage, Timidity and Braveness had free pass today.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Cyborg hit the target easily, causing the giant’s leg to tear apart, earth being spread all over the ground and rocks falling out of the structure. Several feet in front of him, he saw that Robin’s explosives caused the same effect in the other leg. The monster stopped. Cyborg had a Booyah ready to be yelled, but then the earth on the ground made the same way back, and the rocks returned to their places. Almost as if they had… turned back in time.

“What the…!” he yelled, frustrated.

Starfire and Beast Boy were also having trouble. The Tamaranean shoot her starbolts and caused the same effect as Cyborg’s sonic blast and Robin’s explosives: destructions followed by quick regeneration. Beast Boy turned into a pteranodon and attacked one of the giant’s shoulders. The rocks got released, but when he turned, had already gotten back to their original place.

Robin threw some discs in the golem’s left leg, which was frozen immediately, stopping him from keep walking. At the same time, Cyborg attacked its right leg with a punch, his arm going through the other side. The giant lost balance and, before he could regenerate, Starfire swung a green elephant in the air and threw it right on its chest.

For a few minutes, it rained earth, sand and rocks. It looked like a victory. However, a huge rock fell on the frozen left leg, and a swirl was made. When it was over, the sand monster was whole again, and walking.

Robin ran, brushing sand off his hair and threw a grapping cable at the golem’s legs, which wrapped itself around them. Cyborg ran to help him pull, but the cable slid through the sand and got off the other side.

“What do we do?” yelled Beast Boy “This guy is unstoppable!”

“We can only keep trying” said Robin “Titans, go!”

Before they could reach the giant, several objects started to be thrown on it, covered in a familiar black aura. It didn’t stop it, but at least delayed it. Cars, buses and small constructions destroyed the monster, but it only kept regenerating. Two buildings moved, joining and standing in its way. It stopped and lifted its hands. A strong earthquake happened, knocking the buildings on the ground and allowing it to step on them, destroying them to continue on its way.

Starfire flew to the monster’s belly and stretched her arms, trying to push him back. Just like Robin’s cable, however, she was absorbed by the sand and passed through it, coming out on the other side covered by the grains. Beast Boy flew to the golem’s head as a little and fast hummingbird, and then changed into a bear, hugging its face to keep it from seeing. He bite and scratched it, trying to harm it in any way. But the giant kept walking, seeming not to need its vision to go its way.

Pipes loosen from the asphalt from the destruction were wrapped in black energy and directed to the giant, wetting the bottom of its body. He started to move slower because of the weight, but the structure remained whole. Robin threw his discs again, freezing both legs.

The top part of the monster’s body was separated from the frozen legs and it went to the ground in a thump. Earth and sand got spread all over the area.

“Yes!” exclaimed Beast Boy with a smile, after landing safety.

“Glorious!” Starfire clapped her hands.

However, the ground started to tremble again, and when the four Titans got to their feet, the monster was back in one piece. It was a little smaller, but still huge and still moving.

“What’s with this guy?” complained Cyborg annoyed, his three friends with discouraged faces.

“Titans…” before Robin could finish his sentence, the monster stopped.

It had reached its destination.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Raven saw the daycare, the golem still away. She sighed with relief to see it was still standing. A crowd was at the doors, helping evacuate the place. Coming closer to the ground, she saw the last people carrying children in their arms. She felt Caleb’s presence before she could see him: he was in a baby seat carrier next to the exit.

She landed and ran toward him. But then there was another earthquake, knocking her to the ground before she could levitate. She fell, hitting her head on the sidewalk. It took her a lot of effort to stay conscious. After the earthquake stopped, she took some minutes to get to her feet. The minutes the monster needed to get to its destination.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

The hourglass followed its master’s desires.

Even when she didn’t say all the words. That was because it was connected to her heart.

When she cried over it, she told it all it needed to know.

Destruction.

She wanted the destruction of a relationship.

To grant this wish, it needed information. It collected all there was. In all times. It looked through its master’s mind, even through what she didn’t remembered, what never happen in this timeline.

It stumble in a very precious information.

The quickest way to that bond’s destruction was to destroy the relationship’s fruit.

And its grains told it he was near.

Really near.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Caleb cried. He was scared, and cry was the only way he knew to respond to that.

He felt his mother’s light approaching him, but before she could reach him, the world started to shake again.

It was really scary. He went back and forth, things fell and there was a loud noise. The lights around him got too bright, hurting him.

So he cried and cried, hoping his mother would listen and come to him.

When the world stopped shaking, he hadn’t strength in him to yell, and his cry was narrowed to a few sobs. The lights were out. He was all alone.

Little rough things fell on him and he looked up, seeing a hand. But this hand was so much bigger than his mother’s. He got even more scared.

Suddenly, the world was black, and he only saw things in a white contour. The hand came closer, closer… and stopped.

He blinked, stopped crying and looked around, feeling safe again. It was just enough for him to catch his breath to start crying again when the hand lowered again, causing a loud noise and the ground to shake again.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

Terra woke up with her head touching the floor and cold saliva on her chin. She opened her eyes and saw a blur. Her body was completely sore.

She coughed, feeling something rough in her throat. _Sand…?_ She sat, rubbing her eyes. To the distance, she saw a scenario of complete destruction.

She remembered everything now.

The betrayal. Slade. Her regrets. Her sacrifice.

Beast Boy and Raven. And her jealousy and where it took her.

She ran her hand through her face. She could see all so clearly now. Why did this only happen when it was too late?

She got to her feet and went to the window, jumping in a piece of earth, which floated in the city’s direction.

It was time to do things right.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0

“Raven!” yelled a voice, and she turned, still confused. Two strong hands held her shoulders “Are you okay?”

“I… I hit my head” she mumbled, finding Beast Boy’s eyes “We have to… Save Caleb…”

“Where…?”

His question was interrupt by a quake. The monster, a few feet ahead of them, was punching something on the ground. Nonstop, one fist after the other. Between the sand curtains, he saw a little black dome protecting something… or someone.

“Oh, no!” he mumbled, and he and Raven ran to them, despair growing in their hearts.

Starfire attacked with starbolts by one side. Robin freeze the monster’s legs again and tried to get to its arms. Cyborg shot his blue cannon blast on the other side.

Now Beast Boy and Raven joined them, the empath with four red eyes holding one of the giant’s arms with a thick astral rope while the changeling held the other arm as Beast. Their baby’s cries echoed in their ears, torturing them.

Raven tried to remove Caleb, but the baby was frightened and his powers didn’t allow his mother’s to interfere in the shield created by his energy. She was impressed with the strength his powers had.

The giant was almost overwhelming them when another earthquake started, this time causing its fall.

Raven ran to the ground and touched the little dome. It dissolved immediately, when Caleb felt his mother’s presence, calming down. The empath leaned and took her son in her arms, holding him in a protective way.

The giant was starting to regenerate when several rocks hit it. The Titans were spread over the area, but Beast Boy managed to get to Raven, hugging them.

Terra knew the only way to stop the giant was to pick the hourglass. She jumped off the piece of earth that took her there and threw several pieces of rock and asphalt in the mass, stopping it from form the golem again. She ran among the wreckages and saw a glow. As she run to it she breathed heavily, since the sand was hovering in the air like a cloud. She kneeled next to it, little rocks entering her wounds. She took the clock in her hands and approached it to her hurt face.

Terra got up, and everything around her was sand.

Robin took an unconscious Starfire from a bunch of rocks. Cyborg coughed, covered in earth and sand. Beast Boy and Raven were several feet from her, his foreheads touching as they looked in deep affection to baby with green skin.

Seeing them like this, Terra finally understood what she couldn’t in two different timelines.

They belong to each other.

Beast Boy could never be happy with her, because he was Raven’s. Any time, any place.

She laughed without humor, turning her attention back to the hourglass in her hands. She faced it, its light contour, its moderate weight, its unstable color. The sand slid from the top half to the bottom, as it should.

She raised the hourglass over her head.

_There are no second chances._

A single tear fell when she shattered the clock in a million pieces against the concrete.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 – Destiny  
Violet eyes... It was Raven, coming to punish her for all the harm she had caused.  
But the eyes looked concerned… It wasn’t Raven.  
Beast Boy’s image gradually formed in front of her. The face shape, the green skin, the… purple hair?  
It wasn’t Beast Boy.  
“Are you okay?” the person asked. She looked in its eyes. It was Raven again.  
She felt a great pressure leaving her chest. Whoever this was, it was taking a wooden column from the top of her, with powers that emanate a dark aura. She sighed, closing her eyes again. Then she felt a shadow over her. She opened her eyes.  
“Try to stay awake until the ambulance gets here” said the image gently. She could see him clearly now. He had green skin and purple eyes and hair. He was Raven and Beast Boy’s son. This must mean…  
Before she could conclude the thought, she passed out.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
July 24th 2028, 4:32 am  
Terra woke up, lying somewhere in a dim light. Looking around, she recognized a hospital bedroom. The bed she was lying on was warm and comfortable, and she noticed lights and mechanic beep next to her, indicating a vital sign monitor. Moving lightly she felt a discomfort mask covering her nose and mouth. When she moved her arm to take the mask off, she saw a catheter in her wrist. She coughed when she removed the mask, but felt relief to the touch of the cold air in her sensible airways. Suddenly she felt urgency for a cigarette. With this feeling she fell asleep.  
July 24th 2028, 10:45 am  
When she woke up again, she could see the sun through the window, lightening her room, and a doctor was ready to receive her.  
“Good morning, Miss Markov” he greeted her smiling. He had gray hair and wrinkles around gentle eyes. She didn’t smile back and only grunted.  
“How are you feeling today?”  
“…Sore”  
“Would you like another analgesic?”  
“I’d like to smoke” he laughed.  
“I’m afraid you can’t, at least until you leave the hospital” he informed, writing something in his clipboard “Now, about your condition…”  
“Am I going to be arrested?” she asked directly, remembering all the facts that lead her to this state. He seemed honestly surprised.  
“Arrested? I don’t see why you would think that!”  
She didn’t answer, just staring at the doctor, confused.  
“Do you remember what happened?” he asked curiously. She sighed.  
“Can I go to the bathroom?”  
“Certainly. Do you need any help?”  
“No” she answered firmly, getting out of bed and walking slowly but determined to the little door on the back of the room.  
When she returned, the doctor examined her in silence and then asked a few more questions about how she felt physically. He got out and the nurse brought her a meal that included oatmeal, cereal, toasts and orange juice. Terra realized she was hungry and eat all, although the nurse advice her not to eat so quickly.  
She slept some more through the day, wondering what happened to the other timeline. Probably just disappeared, like nothing had happened.  
Probably nothing had. Maybe it was just some sick dream of her disturbed mind.  
The nurse came in with her dinner, distracting her from these thoughts.  
“You have visitors” she informed, taking the empty tray. Terra freeze, thinking about saying she wasn’t feeling well to receive visitors, but the nurse was already gone. Before the door could close, a green hand stopped it.  
‘Beast Boy!’ she thought, panicking. However, it wasn’t Beast Boy who crossed the door, but a teenager very much alike him, but with crucial differences.  
His hair was purple, straight and falling to his chin. His eyes were deep violet. Terra had a weird feeling to notice this boy was, in essence, the same baby she save some time ago. Like she had stood up too fast and got dizzy.  
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, seeming concern, when she took her hand to her head and blinked. The blonde nodded and took a deep breath, until the dizziness was gone.  
“Good. Can I take a seat?” she looked at him for a second before nodding again. He pulled a chair and sit next to her bed, smiling.  
“My name is Caleb Logan”  
“I know” she answered, letting out a little bitterness. But he didn’t seem to notice that, since he kept smiling.  
“You’re Terra, right? I found you yesterday”  
“I don’t go by this name for a while” she said.  
“Oh, sorry. How should I call you?”  
“Terra is fine by now”  
“Good! Nightwing, Cyborg and Starfire will be here soon” he informed, looking at the door for an instant “But I would like to talk to you first”  
She remained silent, with absolutely no clue of what Beast Boy and Raven’s son could want from her.  
“The doctor told me you’re afraid of being arrested” he started “You don’t have to worry about that. You were found in an explosion spot, that’s all. It’s not against the law to walk at night”  
“How about being found next to stolen objects?” she questioned, not understanding why they were ignoring that.  
“We didn’t find anything next to where you were” he shrugged.  
“And nothing disappeared?”  
“Not recently”  
A thought crossed her mind.  
“Do you… Have a calendar?” she asked. Caleb took a familiar yellow communicator of his pocket and put on the calendar, giving to her. They were in July 2028. For some reason, she traveled four years to the future, from the day she stole the hourglass. Well, that definitely proved it did happen. But then where was the clock…? She gave the communicator back to him, thinking.  
“Anyway, I came to ask you something” he leaned next to her “You lived as a civilian all these years, right?”  
She diverted her look and nodded. She imagined now there will be personal questions.  
“Do you have interest in teaching?”  
Silence. She turned and stared at his violet eyes. Unlike his mother’s, these eyes didn’t give her any hostility. They only looked at her with inquiry. They didn’t seem to know more about her than herself or look for hidden intentions.  
“I’m sorry?”  
“Right, sorry, I should explain” he shook his head, smiling “I study at Titans High, you know, the school the Titans created for special ability kids”  
Terra kept staring at him without interruptions, extremely confused. She knew about the school, the Titans founded it some years before her little adventure.  
“Well, it’s relatively new, it still in progress when it comes to subjects and teachers…” he continued, taking her silent as consent.  
“And I suggested a new subject of Self Control, you know, methods for those who have abilities too difficult to… well, to control”  
“The headmaster told me if I could get a good teacher and enough students he would include the subject next semester” he finished, looking pretty satisfied “I already have the students, but we’re missing a teacher. I was wondering if you would like to do it”  
“What?” she asked with a laugher, after a shocking silence “Kid, I’m no teacher, I never taught my entire life, and if you ask any of your… well, any of the Titans, you’ll discover I’m the last person someone should go to learn about power controlling”  
“But… You are! You lived among the civilians without hurting anyone for what… twenty years?” he argued “Besides, someone to identify, someone who isn’t scared of telling about fails is very important for an insecure student!”  
She just laughed at him.  
“Kid, you are a good comedian. That was great” she said looking around, avoiding those expectant eyes “Now why don’t you go and ask Dr Light for strategy classes?”  
They heard four knocks on the door.  
“Okay, kid, you’re time is up!” said Cyborg’s voice, and Caleb got up quickly.  
“You don’t have to answer now” he said, taking a piece of paper of his pocket and giving it to her “Think about it. If you change your mind…”  
“Caleb?” called Starfire’s voice.  
“Coming!” he answered in a loud voice and turned back to her “It was nice meeting you, anyway.”  
He was already across the room, his hand on the doorknob, when she called him. He turned, hopefully.  
“Thank you for saving me from the explosion’s wreckages” she said. He only gave her a warm smile and left.  
Then three of her former friends and teammates came inside, all with curious looks. She sighed. This would be a pain.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
After some practical detective questions, Robin – now known as Nightwing – left to do all the paperwork, leaving the three of them alone.  
“Terra? What did Caleb want from you?” asked Cyborg, now that their leader was gone, really curious. The blonde laughed.  
“He came to offer me a teacher job at your school” the two Titans stared at her, surprised “Self Control classes! Can you believe it?”  
But neither of them laughed. On the contrary, they looked at each other like they just saw something right under their nose the entire time.  
“What? You don’t think it is a good idea, do you?” she asked, ceasing the laughs.  
“Actually, I think is a glorious idea!” answered Starfire, clapping her hands, her eyes sparkling.  
“Man, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this!” the cybernetic Titan face palmed, frustrated.  
“Okay, hello? Terra to Cyborg and Star, over?” she mocked them, speaking in an invisible communicator “How many time did I almost destroy the city? And, oh, there was the time I actually destroyed the city.”  
“Terra, at Titans High, we have a different philosophy” explained Starfire gently “The teachers should share their experiences, and even learn from their students!”  
“What she means is: maybe you need this just as much as they do” said Cyborg “They don’t need someone perfect, just… an orientation”  
“And Caleb rarely makes wrong decisions” told the Tamaranean, seeming proud.  
“Guys, this doesn’t make any sense. Why would he choose me? The obvious choice would be Raven”  
“Well, we know he didn’t invite her” Cyborg shrugged “She already teaches other subject”  
“Friend Terra, Caleb put a lot of effort to include this subject in the school grade, and he has treated it with the most seriousness” said Starfire, her hands in her lap “He recruited the students who need the most and already started a study group about it. The advisor’s choice he has conducted with most care.”  
“It’s true” confirmed Cyborg “We already suggested a lot of people, but he didn’t think anyone was good enough.”  
Terra found herself at loss of words to these facts.  
“You can trust Caleb, friend Terra” guaranteed Starfire “He is so wise for his age. He is… Well, I don’t really know how to put in words. He has Raven’s empathy ability and Beast Boy’s will of doing something about it, do you understand?”  
“Not really…”  
“The kid will do great things, we know this much”  
Terra sighed.  
“I’ll think about it, okay?”  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
“I’m home” announced Caleb, entering his house and closing the door behind him. A shaggy dog came to meet him, excited. He kneeled down and petted him for a few minutes, before getting to his feet and entering the living room. A woman with purple hair wearing a blue shirt and white pants was reading on the couch, a teenager with green skin and long green hair was writing in a notebook sitting next to her and two girls were sat on the floor playing video games. The huge dog lay down between them.  
“Hey Caleb. You’re late” said Raven, raising her eyes from the book.  
“I had to do something. Where’s dad?” he asked, looking around.  
“In the kitchen” she answered, going back to her reading.  
“Hi Caleb!” exclaimed a man with green skin, showing up in the door that connected the living room to the kitchen. He had a little flour on his face and was mixing something in a bowl “We’ll have spinach lasagna and breaded tofu for dinner… But Raven bought chicken fingers for those who don’t have a heart”  
“Thanks, mom” said the two girls in the floor, their eyes still on screen.  
“Sounds great, dad” said Caleb, rubbing his hands “But anyway, I have some good news!”  
His family only nodded to indicate they were listening, not taking their eyes of their tasks.  
“I found a teacher for the Self Control class!”  
“That’s great!” exclaimed Raven with a smile.  
“Awesome, son! You were working really hard on it!” said Beast Boy, also smiling.  
“Really?” asked Marie from the ground with a hopeful voice. She had blond hair falling to her shoulders and her eyes were somewhere between blue and green. Her distraction made her lose.  
“I won!” yelled her twin sister, Arella, who had violet eyes and purple hair falling to her chin. Although they had different colors of hair and eyes, the twins had the same face features, which were very alike Raven’s.  
“Who is it?” questioned Emerald, staring at him with her deep green eyes “Someone we know?”  
“Well, mom and dad know her…” he told, taking off his coat and hanging it in a hook by the door “She was an old teammate as aunt Kory told me”  
“Really?” Raven raised an eyebrow, and Beast Boy seemed equally intrigued “Who is it?”  
“Terra”  
“What?” they both seemed shocked.  
“Wow, that was the same face they did when they saw her yesterday” Caleb laughed.  
“How did you find Terra?” questioned Raven “She was missing!”  
“I told you she was living as a civilian, Rae” said Beast Boy in a tone ‘I-was-right’ he rarely got the chance to use.  
“I found her in that explosion yesterday” Caleb explained, sitting on a cushion next to his sisters “So I went to the hospital ask her today”  
“And she just said yes?” asked Emerald.  
“Well… No. She said she’ll think about it” Caleb said as Pearl, Emerald’s white cat, hopped to his lap “But I’m optimistic”  
“You’re just like your father…” sighed Raven.  
“Never mind that…” said Beast Boy “Why did you ask her? You know, she had some issues”  
“Yes, she dated you father” informed Raven ironically. The twins laughed while Beast Boy glared at his wife.  
“Really? You dated?” Caleb blinked, serious.  
“Yeah, we went in like one date” he explained “Then she… well, she quitted”  
“Why?”  
“I don’t know, maybe it was because your mother hated her” he said, getting revenge for the previous teasing, making the girls laugh again. Then he got his mortal glare “Oops, I think there’s something burning”  
“You don’t like her, mom?” asked Caleb, petting the cat’s head with his fingers.  
“I was just a little jealous” she confessed, shrugging “She caused some damage, but supposedly had a change of heart in the end”  
“I see… Well, I was impressed that she lived as a civilian for twenty years!” he looked honestly surprised “Uncle Vic told me about the control issues she had when she was younger, and I thought a lot of people could identify”  
“That is true” agreed Raven.  
“Guys, dinner’s ready” called Beast Boy, and the family got up to go to the dining room.  
“Emerald, could you please not text while we’re eating?” asked Raven, seeing her daughter holding a piece of lasagna in the air to look at the little screen.  
“Sorry” she said, putting her phone down and going back to eat “Aunt Kory is just sending me some pictures of you guys at the beginning of the team”  
“Why?” questioned Beast Boy with the mouth full of tofu.  
“I’d like to write an article about the Titans history” she explained, sipping her ice tea “You know, for the school paper. Oh, here they are!”  
“Can I see it?” Arella stretched herself to see the screen, and they both started to laugh “You were little, dad”  
“I guess this settles who’s washing the dishes tonight” answered Beast Boy.  
“What? Mom doesn’t do it in like forever!” she protested.  
“Well, that’s what you have children for” the empath shrugged, getting up and looking above her daughter’s shoulder, who was sliding through the pictures “Look at this, Gar”  
“Oh, I hate this picture” he grunted, observing it. It was a picture of an eighteen-years-old Raven reading a book distracted on the couch, and Beast Boy was closer to the camera, with an annoyed and embarrassed look on his face. “I was about to ask your mother out for the first time when Kory came out of nowhere and took this picture! It was several weeks until I gather courage again”  
“Maybe it was for the best. I was going to say no” told Raven “I was still in denial about liking you”  
“I suppose…” sighed the changeling “Arella, you’re not getting away from the dishes!”  
After all the dishes were washed by the twins, the family watched a little TV and got ready to sleep. Raven left the bathroom and went to check on her children while Beast Boy took a shower. She got to the bedroom most far from her own and looked through the open door.  
The light was on and her two younger daughters were in the bottom bed of the bunk bed, talking in low voice.  
“No more talking, go to sleep” she ordered, coming in. They separated quickly and Arella climbed to the top bed, lying down. Raven kissed her forehead and leaned to Marie, who had an anxious look.  
“Do you think this Terra will be a good teacher mom?” she asked as her mother kissed her.  
“I can’t say, honey, she didn’t even accepted yet” she answered, turning the lights off “Good night, girls”  
“Night mom” they said in unison, what always made her smile.  
She closed the door and went to the next door. She knocked and entered a room all painted in pink. Emerald closed her laptop quickly, sat on the bed.  
“You must be the only girl in the world who keeps awake to write something that’s due in two months” she commented with a smile.  
“I was talking to James too” she argued, pulling the covers and turning the lamp off. Pearl jumped in her bed and snuggled against her legs. Raven smiled and turned to leave. “Mom?”  
“Yes?” she turned, staring at her daughter’s shape in the dark.  
“Do you think you and dad were destined to be together?”  
Raven took a second to process this question. Then she smiled.  
“No, honey. No one is destined to anything” she explained calmly “Relationships are hard to keep. Your father and I are together because we love each other and work very hard every day.”  
“I see… Thanks, mom. Good night.”  
The empath wished her daughter good night and closed the door, walking and still considering her answer. She passed by Caleb’s door. He was still talking to his girlfriend on the phone. She pointed to the wrist with her finger, indicating it was late, and he gave her the thumbs up and smiled.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
Caleb waved to her mother when she pointed to the watch and finished his conversation with Tinuviel, still missing her. He turned his lamp on and projected a portal to let Flame in. The dog ran around his bedroom and then started to sniff his pocket. He stopped in front of him, staring at him with a suspicious look.  
“What?” the boy asked, raising his eyebrow. The dog kept looking at his pants, seeming afraid of getting too close. Then Caleb remembered.  
“Oh, yeah” he exclaimed, putting his hand on his pocket and taking off a brown paper. It was wrapped around a shard of thick glass a little bigger than a coin. It had smooth waves and it was a little dirt. He had found this on the same place of the explosion where he found Terra, in the middle of a bunch of sand. Which was weird, because they were far from the beach. He completely forgot to tell Nightwing, Terra or even his parents about it. In fact, not for Flame, he probably would get it washed with his pants.  
He ran his fingers through the smooth surface, trying to see well. It looked like part of a rune…  
A bark startled him.  
“Quiet, Flame!” he whispered, fearing his mother would wake up. The dog growled to the grains falling on the carpet. “It’s just sand…”  
But Caleb knew better than to ignore an animal’s instinct. He sighed and wrapped the shard again, keeping it in his desk’s drawer.  
“There, I won’t touch it” he assured the dog, that at least relaxed and went to his cushion, spinning until he found a good spot to laid down. Caleb also lay down, the exhaustion getting to his body.  
“I’ll throw it out first thing in the morning” he said with a yawn, falling asleep. He wouldn’t remember it by the morning. The shard glow with a yellow light in the darkness of its new cell, grains of sand projected of nothing falling around it. It would be stored in that drawer for a long time…  
But time wasn’t a problem to it.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0  
When she arrived in her room, Beast Boy was in sweat pants and shaking his head, trying to get some water off his ear. She smiled lightly and sat on the bed, leaning her back against a pillow and opening her book.  
“Are you okay?” he asked, lying down. She nodded. A bark echoed through the house. Raven frowned, but wouldn’t get up just to expel Flame out of Caleb’s room. She closed her book without reading a single word and stared at her husband.  
“Are you thinking about something?” she asked, staring at his tired face.  
“Hm? Oh, yeah. I was thinking about Kory’s picture” he said, and Raven raised a questioning eyebrow “I mean, if she hadn’t shown up, and I had asked you out and you had said ‘no’… What could be different?”  
“Probably nothing” she shrugged “You wouldn’t give up so easily”  
“Yeah, I really wouldn’t…” he mumbled, making her smile. She saw the big smile he always opened whenever he managed to do that “I love you”  
Raven thought about her daughter’s question again. All her life, she hated the destiny’s concept. She had been destined to a terrible fate, not only to her, but to everyone around her, and she believed in it ever since she was a kid, for sixteen sad years. When, in the end, she defeated her father and turned around fate, she was determined to make her own decisions in life, and not be lead by some kind of great power.  
Now she considered if the life she had now – this happy life, married to the man she loved, powers under control and four healthy and wonderful children – was a part of her destiny. Watching Beast Boy fall asleep she came to the conclusion it didn’t matter. She stretched her hand to hold his and closed her eyes.  
“I love you too”  
She fell asleep with a comforting feeling.  
Everything was the way it was suppose to be.  
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


	36. Chapter 36

Epilogue

June 2029

Jump City’s Sky was a perfect blue, no clouds in sight. The sun was shining, not too bright and not to weak. Birds sang and flew among the trees, full with bright green leaves. All of this could be seen from a big window, but almost anyone pay attention to those details.

Rows of red chairs settled some dozens of people, turned to a stage and a podium. Behind it, there was a man in a suit, with black hair and a mask on his eyes. A big sign above his head said ‘Congratulations, 2029 Class’.

“As headmaster of this school, still pretty new, but extremely successful, I’m glad to begin the graduation ceremony of our fifth class” he said, looking proud “First, I’d like to invite to the podium the honored teacher, Miss Tara Markov, aka Terra”

Applauses filled the auditorium. Nightwing still applauded when he sat down.

Terra was almost unrecognizable regarding her appearance one year ago. Her blonde hair was cut to chin length, giving a serious touch. She was wearing a blue suit composed by blazer and skirt that matched her eye’s color and high heels. She had a light make up in her face, which was rest and healthy, and the biggest difference of all, an honest smile.

“Congratulations students!” she started, and silence fell “You all worked really hard to get here today, and I feel so happy that you chose me as honored teacher”

“For those who don’t know me, I’m Tara, Self Control teacher. One year ago I was invited to initiate this subject and be a part of this family… Once again”

She stopped, taking a deep breath.

“I still don’t know what made me take this job. But I certainly know what made me keep it. Here I found wonderful young people with incredible gifts. These same gifts, however, retracted them to a state of fear and insecurity. I saw myself in these youngsters. And I wanted to do all I could to help them.”

“So, during this year, my students grew, and I grew with them. We had a slow but constant progress, filled with obstacles, demanding effort of both parts. The students had to give up sleeping hours to train, and I had to go argue with Dick when he was pushing them too hard…”

She looked at the headmaster, who only smiled and raised his hands, taking his responsibility, and everyone laughed.

“But we did manage to get along. Each little success made me stronger – like when Stephanie stopped to release laser through her eyes whenever she was nervous, I stopped getting late; Audrey managed to laugh without deepening the room in darkness, I trade my cigarettes for patches; Tinuviel learned how to keep her magic only in her hands and I gave up junk food; Caleb… Well, I guess Caleb only went to the classes to supervise me…”

More laughs.

“Anyway… I guess I’m just trying to say… Thank you. Here, I found my vocation. And an advice for you, about to begin your adult lives… You can only get the second chances you give yourselves. So, no matter what mistakes you made, just keep trying to give the best of you, no matter what. Sometimes, the best opportunities come in the worst times of life, if you focus in what really matters. I thank you all”

The auditorium was filled with loud applause as she came down. Nightwing got up to the podium once again.

“Thank you Miss Markov, that was really moving. Now I’m happy to introduce our valedictorian. He is this great person I had the privilege to see growing up. He is humble, intelligent and has the unusual gift of always know how to make people feel better – Caleb Logan.”

Terra smiled to Caleb, who passed by her to go to the podium. She could see the audience well. Starfire was easily visible, sitting next to her son James, a boy with black straight hair and green eyes like hers. Behind them, were Beast Boy and Raven, sat side by side. To Beast Boy’s left was their older daughter, Emerald, a girl who looked like Raven, but had green skin and hair. To Raven’s right were sitting their younger daughters, one blonde and the other with purple hair. Behind them Cyborg was sat between his wife Sarah and her son Brian, a boy with dark skin and a metal leg.

“Welcome all” echoed Caleb’s voice, and she turned back to the podium as the silence fell “I promised my mom I would _not_ start the speech with a joke… But since Miss Markov’s speech was so emotional… I’d like to con- _graduate_ all my fellow students…”

A collective moan was heard, and Terra chuckle, seeing Raven bury her face in her hands and Beast Boy laugh quietly, giving his son the thumbs up.

“See, now we can all feel bad for my horrible joke” he said with a big smile “But seriously, I’d like to thank my class for electing me to come up here and give a speech in this important day”

“I was blessed, because I was born in a loving home with an incredible family, who never let me go through any difficulties. Even if not a very conventional family” he looked not only to his parents, but to his friends – Starfire, Nightwing and Cyborg “However, this isn’t rule for different people like us – with gifts that frequently scare those around us. This school, more than teach, guide and train, gives a family to those still alone. That’s why we’d like to say thank you”

Terra squeezed her hands, smiling.

“Now we’ll go different ways… Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero. A hero like my mom and dad, Raven and Beast Boy, like my aunt Starfire and my uncles Cyborg and Robin, before he changed to Nightwing, the models I grew up with.”

“Most of the time, my family members were heroes to me on daily things. Robin was always there to help me and give me advice whenever I wasn’t secure to go to my parents. Starfire colored my world by sharing with me all the wonderful things she found in Earth. Cyborg taught me there’s so much more behind appearances. My mother guided me through a wonderful world of books and my father never let me forget about the world out there, and they almost made me feel I could be anything I want”

“You don’t have to be in a colorful outfit and beat bad guys to be a hero. You can be a hero being anything you want. You just can’t forget who you are and where you came from. As students in this school, we are privileged. I want to believe with these benefits we’ll help the most people we can. Innocent people that need to be saved of some great villain; and alone and confuse people that need to be protected from themselves.”

“We thank all the families that could or not be here, and thank immensely all the teachers and founders, for giving us this help and opportunity. May we all have a happy and complete life. Thank you.”

The hall was filled with applauses one more time, and Terra joined them. She could see Starfire and Beast Boy wiping their tears and Raven and Cyborg trying to hide theirs.

Nightwing got to the podium again and they delivered the diplomas. After it was done, he said some more words of encouragement.

The students, sat in the first rows of the audience, got up and celebrated. She saw Caleb hugging his girlfriend Tinuviel, a red haired girl of immense beauty. So he hugged his friend Stephanie, Starfire and Nightwing’s daughter, a girl with black hair and blue eyes with face almost identical to Starfire’s. They turned to meet their families, and Starfire hugged her daughter, one of the only two people that could take her hugs without getting out of breath. Nightwing walked to them as Raven hugged her son.

She watched Raven release her son and hold his face on her hands for a few seconds, and then stepping back to allow Beast Boy to hug him. So their eyes met. For a long instant, they both stared at each other. Then Raven gave her a small smile and nodded. She smiled back. They were at peace with themselves, so they were finally at peace with each other.

One of the teachers came to talk to her, but Terra was only half aware. She could see the lovely day through the window.

For the first time in a long time, she was completely satisfied.

Everything was the way it was suppose to be.

Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0


End file.
